The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Review: Just Cage Being Cage!

April 23, 2022May 2, 2022 Carder Galluzzo 1 Comment Alessandra Mastronardi, Ike Barinholtz, Jacob Scipio, Neil Patrick Harris, Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Tiffany Haddish.

Released in 2022, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is an action-comedy directed by Tom Gormican (known for his 2014 buddy comedy, That Awkward Moment). It stars Pedro Pascal, Tiffany Haddish, and Neil Patrick Harris. Oh! and I almost forgot, Nicolas f’n Cage. Him too. Story of the film begins with Nick Cage facing a financial ruin, accepts a $1 million offer to attend a wealthy fan’s (played by Pascal) birthday party.

Subsequently, the 107-minute film take a wildly unexpected turn when a CIA operative (Hadish) recruits Nick Cage for an unusual mission. Taking on the role of a lifetime, he soon finds himself channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to save himself and his loved ones.

When I first learned of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent back in 2020, it sounded like it would either be entertaining or a bus fire, no real in between. And luckily for anyone with a taste for good films, its brilliant. Nicolas truly is a national treasure (pun intended), and he is dialled all the way up to eleven in here. He and Pedro Pascal have bombastic chemistry, and every moment they’re together, they are having a great time, and so are you.

The comedy is hilarious, and while it heavily relies on references to Cage’s filmography, it never feels cheap. The Paddington 2 joke had me in tears, which is quite rare. Even the action scenes during the third act were well directed, although there were some scenes (action scenes or otherwise) where the editing feels very abrupt; it was obvious where they chopped footage off of it.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is absolutely for everyone, but is also a love letter to cinephiles, and especially Nicolas Cage fans. Its a reminder as to why we love movies. It’s a reminder that they don’t need to be taken so seriously, that they bring us together as friends, as family, as people. There’s no need to be toxic towards them, or towards the cast or crew behind it, something that I’m not 100% innocent of.

It’s also a reminder that there are things far more important in life than movies and to focus on the people in our lives and to live with no regrets. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is not perfect, but I adored this it, and anyone who has the slightest bit of appreciation for movies will too.