Nic Cage: Genius or Nutball?

mister_h · 21-11-2011 2:16pm #1

He's been in many a rotten tomato over the years but Leaving Las Vegas got him a lot of attention. What's your honest opinion of Nicholas Cage?

jjspine · 21-11-2011 2:21pm

Hes made some stinkers but at the same time what actor hasnt i think hes brilliant especially in raising arizona and leaving las vegas.

not big on his latest which is trespass watched that last night wasnt a big fan.

Sad Professor · 21-11-2011 2:22pm

Brilliant actor when he wants to be. But unfortunately he's a paycheck whore who has no interest in making good movies.

DjFlin · 21-11-2011 2:23pm

He's great when he's good. But when he's bad, dear lord he's bad.

Professey Chin · 21-11-2011 2:23pm

Was stuck in Sat night and ended up watching Knowing.
What.......The.....Fcuk?

Will I Amnt · 21-11-2011 2:25pm

I can't stand his voice.
If I could look past that,I would probably think he was fairly decent but I can't.
Watched 8mm at the weekend for the first time,have to say I enjoyed it apart from his moany monotonous voice.

mister_h · 21-11-2011 2:26pm

The Great Chinholio wrote: »

Was stuck in Sat night and ended up watching Knowing.
What.......The.....Fcuk?

LOL i totally agree!

SVG · 21-11-2011 2:32pm

Nutball genius?!

I'm a fan- particularly when he brings the crazy. No actor can do unsubtle like him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLrALs-Nq_I

I kind of liked Knowing. I had absolutely no idea where it was going, which is pretty rare. And that scene with the plane crash is legitimately brilliant.

Professey Chin · 21-11-2011 2:33pm

SVG wrote: »

I kind of liked Knowing. I had absolutely no idea where it was going, which is pretty rare. And that scene with the plane crash is legitimately brilliant.

Tbh I didnt know what to think. I spent a lot of time very confused.
Although youre right about the plane crash. I was sitting there going holy fcuk them people be on fire

Fishooks12 · 21-11-2011 2:37pm

He's done some stinkers but he's a cracking actor when on form and can carry even the weakest film (Bad Lieutenant)

Also he's insane which is always good for a larf

mister_h · 21-11-2011 2:53pm

An interesting Real life quote from the man himself, referring to a home invasion he experienced.

"It was two in the morning. I was living in Orange County at the time and was asleep with my wife. My two-year old at the time was in another room. I opened my eyes and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket eating a Fudgesicle in front of my bed," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"I know it sounds funny ... but it was horrifying."

Dermighty · 21-11-2011 3:00pm

He is both.

Every little insane moment in his movies are just little episodes from his real life.

One of my favourite actors.

Watch The Bad Lieutenant

pixelburp · 21-11-2011 3:42pm

I know nothing of Nicholas Cage - the man - beyond his famous relations, so I have no idea what his thoughts or beliefs are; but watching him in a movie you wonder if he realises how fickle and temporary his fame is, and is just having a laugh. I mean he's not a bad actor per se, he just seems to give it 100% all the time, even if that 100% is pure, undiluted crazy. Does he star in god-awful feature-films? Undoubtedly. But you can never claim Cage phones it in, and he certainly seems willing to either laugh at himself or if the vehicle he's in is rubbish, run with the insanity.

I would like to see him (or more accurately, his agent) get more interesting and 'serious' roles, because he can act when he wants to. But for now he seems to be happy to slum it & go nuts

Renn · 21-11-2011 3:44pm

I think he's brilliant. Can never understand people getting their knickers in a twist about some of his film choices - who cares really? It's a job, he's free to do whatever the hell he wants. I'm happy if he's involved in one good film...but we've got about ten out of him. And then even the weaker ones can be interesting viewing just because of his performance.

SVG · 21-11-2011 3:53pm

Renn wrote: »

And then even the weaker ones can be interesting viewing just because of his performance.

I know! Can you imagine The Wicker Man remake without him? He treated that with the amount of seriousness it deserved.

duiggers · 21-11-2011 3:57pm

He should just choose his films a lot more carefully, make sure the script is right. You don'd need to be in 3 or 4 films a year.

He can be a good actor and make a film even better with his performance.

Professey Chin · 21-11-2011 3:58pm

A sick part of me wants to see him star in a remake of The Room

SVG · 21-11-2011 3:59pm

duiggers wrote: »

You don'd need to be in 3 or 4 films a year.

Unless you've massive debts (which I think he has).

Renn · 21-11-2011 4:01pm

Yeah exactly - we really don't know what these people are up to financial-wise. If he has massive debts then he's probably going to have to do some of these 'lesser' films. So what. It's his job at the end of the day and we're lucky to see some great stuff from him.

Fishooks12 · 21-11-2011 4:14pm

The image of Cage punching a woman while in a bear suit is forever ingrained in my mind after the remake of The Wicker Man

pixelburp · 21-11-2011 4:18pm

Debts accrued from what? I presume it's gambling or something equally rock n' roll?
Hey, give Cage his dues; he doesn't phone it in, no matter how bad the material.

Plus he was almost Superman in the 1990s; that's gotta be worth something.

Renn · 21-11-2011 4:20pm

He likes outbidding people like DiCaprio for things apparently...

maximoose · 21-11-2011 4:30pm

Bat sh*t crazy I think.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP1-oquwoL8

DrumSteve · 21-11-2011 4:40pm

Knowing is the only film I have openly groaned out loud in the cinema to. That ending....

indough · 21-11-2011 4:42pm

i honestly think he chooses those crap films on purpose, just to troll hollywood.

subway · 21-11-2011 5:12pm

i think he's great, enjoy most of his films.
this handy reference chart was produced previously, which is quite entertaining

JP Liz V1 · 21-11-2011 6:11pm

Roger Ebert on Cage

The acting work of Cage has been praised by influential film critic Roger Ebert who writes, in his "Great Movies" essay about the film Adaptation, that: "There are often lists of the great living male movie stars: De Niro, Nicholson and Pacino, usually. How often do you see the name of Nicolas Cage? He should always be up there. He's daring and fearless in his choice of roles, and unafraid to crawl out on a limb, saw it off and remain suspended in air. No one else can project inner trembling so effectively.... He always seems so earnest. However improbable his character, he never winks at the audience. He is committed to the character with every atom and plays him as if he were him."

I like him acting even if the film is a complete turkey there always seems to be a memorable scene of Cage's character hamming it up

Lord of War is very underrated imo

21-11-2011 7:52pm

I have a lot of time and respect for Cage, while it's obvious that many of the roles he takes on are motivated purely by financial reward he always brings something to it. An actor should love to work and take every opportunity to do so and as such I have far more respect for someone like Cage or Sam Jackson who are constantly busy and never sitting around waiting on that next great script.

Mike Litoris · 21-11-2011 8:07pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

Brilliant actor when he wants to be. But unfortunately he's a paycheck whore who has no interest in making good movies.

Agree with the whore part. Off beat roles suit him imo but still he's brutal. That said, Hollywood keep casting him in a lot of big movies.

seanybiker · 21-11-2011 8:08pm

He's an oddball but I think he's great.

Mickeroo · 21-11-2011 8:11pm

I pretty much a gree with Sad Professor. He's a great actor but he just does loads of movies for no other reason than to be paid. When he's good he can be awesome though.

21-11-2011 8:11pm

Mike Litoris wrote: »

Agree with the whore part. Off beat roles suit him imo but still he's brutal. That said, Hollywood keep casting him in a lot of big movies.

He should go back to doing some smaller films but his massive debts won't allow that. He owed something like 20 million to the IRS awhile back and has debt all over the place, so until that's cleared don't hold out much hope of him doing anything interesting.

21-11-2011 8:14pm

The Wicker Man remake is a work of comic genius.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6i2WRreARo

Sad Professor · 21-11-2011 8:54pm

I didn't know about his debts. Makes sense though. According to this he's quite the lavish spender. At one point he owned two islands in the Bahamas, a dozen houses and over 50 cars, including the former Shah of Iran's Lamborghini which Cage bought for half a million dollars. :eek:

21-11-2011 9:02pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

I didn't know about his debts. Makes sense though. According to this he's quite the lavish spender. At one point he owned two islands in the Bahamas, a dozen houses and over 50 cars, including the former Shah of Iran's Lamborghini which Cage bought for half a million dollars. :eek:

He even owned a number of castles across the world, man is one of those people who should have been taught the value of a dollar a long time ago. I'm just surprised that he isn't shattering a cell with Snipes considering how much he owes the tax man.

bnt · 21-11-2011 10:19pm

His financial situation is how we know he's really a meathead. On film you can look smart or stupid, but getting his money situation that wrong is on a whole 'nother level ...

Da Shins Kelly · 22-11-2011 12:02am

I hate him so much. His voice really grates on me.

Cameron Poe · 22-11-2011 12:04am

Genius

kraggy · 22-11-2011 2:14am

He was immense in Adaptation.

And he was hilarious in Bad Lieutenant, a film which I think was very underated. It's one of my favourites of the last couple of years.

And he was great in Kick Ass. He's done quite a bit of good stuff actually.

Whiskey in the Jar · 22-11-2011 2:39pm

personally I like him in Face/Off, 8MM and Gone in 60 seconds, but that's all. Rate a lot of actors higher than him

Ghost Train · 22-11-2011 3:00pm

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I hate him so much. His voice really grates on me.

Voice can be bit annoying

think he suits some roles but he's average in a lot of films

LittleBook · 22-11-2011 4:47pm

subway wrote: »

i think he's great, enjoy most of his films.
this handy reference chart was produced previously, which is quite entertaining

Entertaining and (IMO) pretty accurate except that I'd rate Season of the Witch higher than City of Angels. :rolleyes:

FortuneChip · 22-11-2011 4:51pm

He's had some exotic hairstyles over the years!
Superb array!

nxbyveromdwjpg · 22-11-2011 4:52pm

Con-Air was a stone cold classic

johnny_ultimate · 22-11-2011 8:50pm

Bad Lieutenant proves he's the finest comic actor of a generation (also cements Werner Herzog as the fines comic director of a generation). Adaptation is possible his masterpiece performance, though. When he has great material to work with, he will be great. But he does take an awful lot of quick paychecks. Even pachinko ads.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYkw-5htPw0

Mickeroo · 22-11-2011 9:04pm

THis would have been his greatest role I have no doubt (maaaaaaybe a little NSFW, nipples here and there):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQifXaOboMU

joseph brand · 27-12-2011 7:37am

kraggy wrote: »

He was immense in Adaptation.

And he was hilarious in Bad Lieutenant, a film which I think was very underated. It's one of my favourites of the last couple of years.

And he was great in Kick Ass. He's done quite a bit of good stuff actually.

Just watched this movie. It's a gem. I'm no Cage fan, but he was superb in this. He was also amazing in 'Raising Arizona'.

Syferus · 27-12-2011 8:54am

I watched The Family Man a few weeks ago, with Cage in the starring role, a sort of mixture of A Christmas Carol and It's a Wonderful Life. The movie itself had plenty of pock-marks and yet I still enjoyed it immensely, and alot of it had to do with Cage. There's something about Cage's style of over-acting that can actually work, and not just in an ironic way. Don't fight the tide and most anyone will enjoy at least a smattering of his lesser lights.

Galway K9 · 27-12-2011 9:02am

He was good in this AD

One sheet!

Jimmy Iovine · 27-12-2011 1:43pm

I could be alone in saying this but Con Air is one of my favourite films of all time. Cage is class in it. The delivery of some of his lines are brilliant. Not a bad cast either, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Colm Meaney and Steve Buscemi as one of the most fúcked up characters I've seen in a film.

He's also fantastic in Kick Ass.

Galway K9 · 27-12-2011 8:41pm

great cast in that movie except colm meaney who i would describe as talentless git!

Nic Cage: Genius or Nutball?

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