As Jake Peralta of Brooklyn Nine-Nine can attest, Nicholas Cage has a surprising amount of range for an actor who sometimes seems to be the punch-line of his own joke. He’s also been an amazingly prolific actor, and you have to admire a man so willing to commit himself to simply working.
While some of his films, even the bad ones, have become quite (in)famous, many more have flown under the radar and been forgotten. Here they are in all of their glory.
Zandalee (1991)
This is one of those films that could have only come into being at the exact moment that it did. With both Judge Reinhold and Cage in major roles, it’s a film that epitomizes the early 1990s.
It received incredibly negative reviews at the time of its release, but in the years since it has become something of a camp classic. And, with Steve Buscemi appearing occasionally as a thief who spouts philosophy, there’s a lot to enjoy.
Dying of the Light (2014)
This is one of those films that you can’t help but wonder what might have been, especially since the studio Lionsgate denied the director final cut privileges (it’s no wonder the director and most of the cast disowned the film).
It really is a shame that Dying of the Light was butchered so severely, as its story of a government agent slowly suffering from dementia is one that has a lot of potential. A re-edited version is available in some special locations.
Pay the Ghost (2015)
The 2010s were certainly a very productive decade for Cage. While not every one of his offerings was a success, Pay the Ghost, a film about a father who attempts to solve the mystery of his son’s disappearance and finds himself drawn into supernatural happenings, was one of the highlights.
It’s an intriguing premise and the film is a fairly suspenseful affair, and Cage is always fascinating to watch in these sorts of detective/hero roles.
Vampire’s Kiss (1989)
You know that you’re in for a campy, delicious treat when you watch a film titled Vampire’s Kiss, in which Cage plays an agent who, suffering from mental illness, becomes ever more deranged when he is convinced that he was bitten by a vampire.
As the critics at the time noted, the film, though intentionally a dark comedy, slips into absurdity at times. Nevertheless, Vampire's Kiss is peak Cage at his campiest and is worth a watch for that reason alone.
Fire Birds (1990)
The early-1990s came at the tail end of what in some ways can be seen as the peak of the action film, and in Fire Birds, Cage plays a pilot doing everything he can to bring down a cartel.
As this title indicates, it’s peak early-1990s, and the screenplay actually came from an idea conceived by members of the military. As he always does, Cage commands the screen in his own bizarre acting style, something that the critics didn’t really appreciate.
Deadfall (1993)
To Nicholas Cage's credit, he is one of those actors who, whatever else can be said about him, is willing to act in any number of genres including, in this instance, neo-noir (which experienced something of a revival in the 1990s).
Though critics didn’t really like Deadfall – not really a surprise, where Cage is concerned – it has its charms, both because Cage is such a fascinating performer and because the director, Christopher Coppola, is yet another member of the famous Hollywood royal family.
Trapped in Paradise (1994)
There are, perhaps, some very good reasons why this film is one of the more obscure ones in the Cage catalog. It stars three great talents of the early 1990s – Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, and Cage himself – and is something of a genre mishmash, combining elements of Christmas, comedy, and crime.
There is, in other words, a little something for everyone, and Trapped in Paradise is a fascinating little glimpse of an era of filmmaking that is becoming increasingly part of the past.
The Weather Man (2005)
When considering actors who can play a middle-aged man experiencing a midlife crisis, Nicholas Cage is definitely at the top of the list. The film has an interesting blend of humor and darkness, making it a perfect expression of the sort of cultural ennui that was settling in even as early as 2005.
Though Cage is obviously the star of The Weather Man, it also has Michael Caine, and the chemistry between the two of them – who portray a convincing father and son duo – is fantastic.
Joe (2013)
Every so often in his career, Nicholas Cage turns in a performance that actually manages to astound the critics and earn their praise. That was the case with Joe, which was actually screened at both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals.
Joe is also a profoundly moving film, in which Cage plays a man who takes an abused youth under his wing and attempts to protect him from his father. It’s a side of Cage that is rarely seen, and it left viewers wanting more.
The Trust (2013)
It’s undeniable that many of the films that Nicholas Cage starred in during the course of the 2000s were, to put it mildly, critical duds. Perhaps it’s just a fact that many mainstream critics don’t understand Cage’s particular camp style of acting.
Whatever the case, The Trust, despite its generic heist plot, managed to gain some critical recognition. It’s also worth watching for the chemistry between Cage and Elijah Wood and, in his last role, the great Jerry Lewis.