Nicolas Cage: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

This weekend sees the UK release of Outcast, an America-Chinese-Canadian co-production action film, starring Hayden Christensen, Liu Ylfei and NICOLAS MOTHERF****IN' CAGE. Sorry, got a bit carried away there, my apologies. See, despite his depressing downturn in recent years, Nic Cage is still Nic Cage, and even when he's 'bad' he can still be pretty damn good. I love Nicolas Cage. No matter how many terrible straight-to-DVD films he's unleashed upon the world lately or the fact he's more likely to be nominated for a Razzie than an Oscar, he's still capable of busting out a terrific performance under the right circumstances and is a genuinely intriguing and eminently watchable screen presence. And let's not forget the incredible body of work he produced in the 80s, 90s and into the 2000s. There's a reason Cage was and is still able to command such a high salary and why directors will endure his numerous quirks and eccentricities: it's because, at one point, Cage was really, really, really good. He's got the Best Actor Oscar to prove it. Of course, Cage can also deliver a performance so bad that even he, notoriously astute judge of quality, won't even watch or acknowledge it. He's created so many unforgettable characters (along with just as many phoned-in cardboard cutouts) that, really, I was spoilt for choice when it came to compiling this list. Some great stuff (and some not so great) have sadly had to be left out, but here are 5 awesome Nicolas Cage performances and five that sucked.