Nicolas Cage has become an incredibly popular actor over the course of his career. Having portrayed several iconic characters from Ghost Rider to Big Daddy, Cage has proven himself to be an incredible actor. Being able to act in serious dramas, action, or comedy, Cage has had a tremendous career so far.
Despite the fact he has become the king of the memes and GIFs, this Oscar-winning actor is incredibly talented at what he does, with an unbelievable range of emotions being shown in all his films.
While not everything he has been involved in has been a true hit, the vast majority of his movies have been good, and those are what we will be focusing on today. Here are Nicolas Cage's ten best movies, according to IMDb.
Snowden (7.3)
Focusing on the book, The Snowden Files, this movie takes a look at the story that saw Edward Snowden leak the NSA's illegal surveillance techniques to the world. The story that rocked the news was brought to life in the best way possible, allowing people to really see what happened.
The film mainly received mixed reviews from critics. However, it certainly was an important film to be made, and overall, Snowden does a great job at conveying the message it needs to.
Face/Off (7.3)
Face/Off is one of Nicolas Cage's most well-known movies, so it's no surprise to see it cracks his top 10 from IMDb. In this film, Cage plays a terrorist, and John Travolta is an FBI agent who assumes each other's identities and physical appearances.
It's a cat and mouse style thriller that really brings the best out of both actors, who bring their A-games to the performances. The film was heavily praised for its unique concept and the way that it shocked audiences throughout, making this one that remains popular to this day.
The Rock (7.4)
As you would expect from a Michael Bay movie, The Rock has plenty of action and explosions to keep anyone entertained while they throwback some popcorn. With Nicolas Cage joining Sean Connery, this action movie is a real blast from start to finish.
The plot sees an ex-con and a polite chemist team up to lead a counterstrike against a group of rogue military men. They are threatening to nerve gas attack San Fransisco from Alcatraz prison, and it is a mission that must be stopped at all costs.
Grindhouse (7.5)
When you know that Quentin Tarantino is involved in a project, chances are it's going to be very good, and that was certainly the case with Grindhouse. This saw Tarantino work with Robert Rodriguez with a nod to the past of double billing movies back-to-back.
The project featured a huge cast and was incredibly ambitious, and for the most part, it certainly paid off. The film was praised by critics for bringing "exhilarating exploitation fare with wit and panache," according to the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes.
Leaving Las Vegas (7.5)
In Leaving Las Vegas, Nicolas Cage plays the lead role of Ben Sanderson who is a Hollywood screenwriter. In this film, his character has lost everything due to being an alcoholic, and he heads to Las Vegas with the intention of drinking himself to death.
However, it is in Vegas he makes a friendship and a non-interference pack with a prostitute. The film was praised by critics, with Cage rightfully winning an Oscar for his performance.
Lord Of War (7.6)
Released in 2005, Lord Of War sees Nicolas Cage play Yuri Orlov: an arms dealer being confronted by the morality of his work and if it's something that he wants to do. He spends his time in this film being chased by an INTERPOL Agent, adding a thriller aspect to the crime film as well.
Alongside Cage, the film stars Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto in what is a very impressive cast. The critics had plenty of praise for the film, mainly for how accurate and detailed the movie was.
Kick-Ass (7.6)
Kick-Ass is an incredible comic book movie, one that is totally unlike anything you might see in the popular MCU. The film focuses on an unnoticed high school student and major comic book fan who makes the decision to become a superhero without any training or skills.
The film does have a very comedic and dark tone as it mocks the genre at times. Nicolas Cage plays Big Daddy, who is a take on Batman and is actually a skilled superhero. He is focused on training his daughter, Hit-Girl, and Cage certainly brings a tremendous performance to the movie.
Adaptation (7.7)
This movie sees a screenwriter as he becomes incredibly desperate in his attempts to try and adapt 'The Orchid Thief' for the screen. This character is played by Nicolas Cage himself, and it sees an incredible performance from him, which led to an Oscar nomination for best actor.
Cage starred alongside Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper here in a film that was heavily praised by critics and fans alike. The movie was described as "original," "multi-layered" and "thought-provoking."
Dark (7.8)
This entire movie takes place within a dream while 26-year-old, Will Ringe is suffering from a coma. After slipping and banging his head, Ringe is sent into the darkness where he dreams about becoming an EMT for an ambulance, only to be haunted by the people that end up dying under his supervision.
Nicolas Cage's work in this film is put together in a very odd way though. Originally, he filmed a movie called, Dying Of The Light, but that became incredibly controversial as the release of the film saw the director and many actors disown the movie. Therefore Paul Schrader ended up taking cuts of that work and placing them into this project, making it very unique.
Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (8.4)
The highest-rated movie of Nicolas Cage's career to this point just so happens to be an animation, with the incredibly popular Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, which many believe to be the best Spider-Man movie. Bringing different Spider-Men from other dimensions, the group has to work together to stop a threat to all the realities.
In this movie, Cage voices the Spider-Man Noir character, a character that is entirely black and white. He becomes obsessed with a Rubik's Cube in this film due to the bright colors, something that he ends up taking back to his own world at the very end.