The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
7/10
The mileage you get out of an action comedy starring Nicolas Cage as “Nick” Cage—a Hollywood actor and fictionalized version of himself, who is struggling with his career and finds himself embroiled in a conflict between organized crime, the CIA (itself a different form of organized crime) and Catalan politicians—will depend to a great extent on how much you like Nicolas Cage.
Directed by Tom Gormican from a script he co-wrote with Kevin Etten, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent offers plenty of opportunity for Cage to lampoon himself and show off his trademark freakouts, though sadly none of the latter rank with his best. Down on his luck at the start of the film, Nick accepts an offer of $1 million from his agent to attend the birthday party of wealthy playboy Javi Gutierrez (Pedro Pascal). After meeting Javi, Nick is abducted by CIA agents Vivian (Tiffany Haddish) and Martin Etten (Ike Barinholtz). They believe Javi is responsible for the kidnapping of Maria, daughter of a Catalan politician vocal in opposing crime. Nick decides to help the CIA in their mission.
Watching Cage and Pascal share the screen is one of the highlights of Unbearable Weight. The two have great chemistry, as their characters bond over a shared love of film and resolve to make a movie together. This buddy element helps sustain the movie into the third act, when it becomes more or less a standard ’80s action movie in which Nick has to rescue ex-wife Olivia (Sharon Horgan) and daughter Addy (Lily Mo Sheen) after they are kidnapped by Javi’s cousin Lucas (Paco León), a notorious arms dealer. True to that throwback vibe, the film incorporates the old Hollywood cliché of the hero resented by his family because he is too obsessed with his work—funnier than usual here because Nick is obsessed with movies and the craft of acting.
Being an appreciator of Nicolas Cage’s “nouveau Shamanic” acting style, I enjoyed The Unbearable Weight of Mass Talent more than non-fans of Cage are likely to. As usual, it was annoying to see the heroic portrayal of the CIA, but that’s Hollywood. The best part of the third act was seeing Nick use his acting skills to infiltrate the villain’s lair. Unfortunately, the same act devolves into action made less believable by the fact that Nick is still just an actor, which makes it hard for the viewer to suspend disbelief at his level of fighting and shooting skill. Unbearable Weight is an entertaining diversion, but one I recommend primarily for Nicolas Cage fans.