What is wrong with Nicolas Cage?

Money. It seems to be always about money. Sometimes it’s so about the money that we forget to notice the true value behind it. Usually what we get is not worth the money we spend, but in Nicolas Cage’s case it is the other way round. And I hate him for it.

Before we get to Bad Lieutenant, could we please just quickly take a look at Cage’s films? Why is it so… random? He starts with some TV shows, like most of the actors have, then moves to Birdy and Raising Arizona out of nowhere really performing quite amazingly; afterwards develops his acting skills and repution appears in Wilde at Heart and Leaving Las Vegas just to simply fuck it all up by appearing in The Ant Bully, Sonny, World Trade Center and The Wicker Man, which simply matches Bad Horror Club so well that I might choose it as the next review. Then he does Ghost Rider, which is really embarrassing to watch along with Next, National Treasure and G-Force- the names that remain impossible for me to pronounce aloud- they’re that bad. I think it was really Knowing that cross him out completely from the list of good actors. It’s even not the film choices he makes, but the acting style he has developed throughout the years of shitty films. Not only does he always seem to play either intellectual version of Steven Seagal or nerdy professor, who at some point needs to save the world, but he always plays them in the extremely stiff way. His smile is unconvincing, the words he pronounces just make you want to laugh and the whole creation is usually just silly. You cannot ignore Nicolas Cage though, because he’s been so stereotypical for so long, he is a parody of himself in most of these films. He is just bad.

And then, completely out of nowhere he’s giving Academy Award level performance in Herzog’s movie. Seriously, what the fuck?

I simply cannot comprehend that. I understand that he sells himself simply and chooses the films that most of Americans will see, BUT my question is, where does he practice? Thinking logically, he should be at least remaining on the same acting level. Does he take extra acting classes? Or does he just practices at home for fun? Or is Adaptation real, and he actually has a twin brother who is acting genius? I don’t know. I simply don’t know.

So, as you’ve all probably noticed, I think Nicolas Cage is stunning and breath-taking in Bad Lieutenant. The film itself delivers the story in a beautiful style. Even though it does not feels like Herzog’s movie at all, it looks clearly like the movie made by a great mind. It experiments with the editing, experiments with the plot line; however, in being so weird, it remains possible to follow, highly entertaining and artistically valuable. It is definitely one of the best films I’ve seen this year, and although the year has just started, I am sure Bad Lieutenant will keep its high position.

The rest of the cast creates a great background for Terence McDonagh. Eva Mendes is always beautiful, Val Kilmer should be also crucified next to Nicolas Cage for hiding his acting skills, and even Xzibit is not annoying at all. I would say, it’s a great achievement.

The music is also the factor that cannot be ignored by the viewer. It surprises us often and fits in the places we would imagine it fit. It’s memorable and pretty cool.

Bad Lieutenant is a must-see this year. It delivers everything a great film should deliver. It’s filled with humour, subtle morals, it’s highly entertaining, cool and witty. I am sure some of the quotes have already became classics, so don’t miss it!