DVD Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Lionsgate released The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent starring Nicolas Cage on digital 8th July and SteelBook, 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD 11th July

In this wildly entertaining, action-packed comedy, Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage plays… Nick Cage! Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalised version of Cage accepts a million-dollar offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take an unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and he must use his legendary acting skills, channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to become a real-life action hero.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is directed by Tom Gormican and stars Oscar® winner Nicholas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, Night School), Sharon Horgan (Military Wives, Pulling), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Gone Girl) and Lily Mo Sheen.

Nicolas Cage has always been an actor that has blazed his own trail but especially in recent years where he has mostly more ‘out there’ projects and returned to his indie roots with recent genre roles including the much acclaimed Mandy and 2021 horror ‘Willy’s Wonderland’. So when you first hear the concept of this film; where cage plays a version (or multiple versions…) of himself you might think then that this makes perfect sense it would be an excuse for him to go ‘full cage’. Whilst is it highly referential to his body of work and the public perception of his character this film manages to sneak in a family drama and a personal journey for cage as well as an unlikely bromance between him and Pedro Pascal’s Javi. Pascal (who has himself built quite the varied career in recent years) should be given huge credit for not only supporting cage but arguably being the joint lead in the movie and their on screen chemistry carries us through the film.

In the included SXSW Film Festival Q&A we get a great insight into Cage’s approach and insight to the film. There is also a deleted scene (cut due to differences with with studio) involving Nicolas Cage reprising some of his most iconic roles like Face/Off (1997), Con Air (1997), Leaving Las Vegas (1995) and Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000), in a long black-and-white fight sequence between him and his younger self in a Surrealist German Expressionist set evoking of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari which if included could have taken the film to a whole new level of meta.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Cage & Pascal are amply supported by the ensemble cast; especially Tiffany Haddish who provides most of the comic relief here. The film is beautifully shot helped in part by the picturesque setting and with fast paced action sequences interspersed with more dialogue heavy scenes that do a good job of living up to some of Cage’s past blockbusters. Cage’s performance is actually quite well measured here as he manages to find levels, even playing his own alter-ego Nicky, he leans into his own stereotypes without it going into the completely absurd.

4.5/5

DVD Special Features

– Audio commentary by writer/director Tom Gormican and writer Kevin Etten

– Deleted scenes (with optional audio commentary by writer/director Tom Gormican and writer Kevin Etten)

– SXSW Film Festival Q&A