10 Nicolas Cage Films That Know Exactly What They Are
Not clever, but loveable all the same...
Nicolas Cage has been the internet’s darling for many years now. The Nickleback of cinema and a misled hero of Hollywood failures, his ability to pick some of the strangest roles in cinema is something to be celebrated. From kidnapping the president to being an all-American superhero dad, from having his face surgically removed to rescuing sewer children from a sentimental ghost - he really has done it all.
Cage’s way with film likely comes from his own treatment of his personal endeavours - he lives his best life when surrounded by cars, castles, and beautiful women, with the latter including a fleeting marriage to none other than Elvis Presley’s own daughter. He’s just a hunk of burning love after all, exhibit A being Ghost Rider.
With an uncle in the acclaimed film director Francis Ford Coppola, the gift of Nic Cage was never going to be hidden for long. Sensationalised for his out-there acting and infamous Cage Rage, every film he’s in becomes a diamond in the rough; whether they’re self aware of their starring hero or not.
Fortunately, there’s films out there that know all too well exactly what they’re getting themselves into, and do so with relish...
10. The Sorcerer's Apprentice
A father figure, a wizened scholar, and most importantly, a magical badass, The Sorcerer's Apprentice sees Cage take on the role of Balthazar Blake and shoot lots of blue orbs in Dragonball-Z-esque magnificence. It's from the same team that brought us the cinematic gift of National Treasure, so of course it's going to be painfully self-aware, and all the better for it.
Helping a physics student harness control of his magical abilities whilst simultaneously trying to save the world from another evil magic-user, Cage becomes daddy magic in all the best ways, wielding the full 100% of his brain capacity to cast his impressive array of spells. Us mortals only have access to 10% apparently - making the Sorcerers Apprentice camp out heavily in the no-plausibility zone, and that's even forgiving modern day Merlins running around New York.
With a luscious wig and very little care for anything other than a good time, the film is based on one scene out of Disney's Fantasia being bought to life. I'm sure you can guess which one from watching, but just in case, 'sentient mop' is the clue. I guess that's enough of a premise for a Cage film from the outset.