Yes, Nicolas Cage is a world famous actor, but is he appreciated for awesomeness? I really don't think so. Cage gets unfairly panned for making what critics call "bad movies." Yes, I have yet to see such movies as Next, Ghost Rider, or Bangkok Dangerous, but as far as I'm concerned, Nicolas Cage is underrated because he fails to be mentioned as a quality actor and for making several mad awesome movies. His three best Con Air, The Rock, and The Family Man, even though he has many more classics under his belt. Also remember, even if a movie is bad, that doesn't necessarily seem that the actor in them is bad as well. In Cage's case, this is certainly true. So even if Knowing got bad reviews, I legitimately think Nic Cage's awesomeness will be dripping from the screen because of what he has shown the world with those three underrated hits.
As far as I'm concerned, Con Air is not only one of the best action movies of the 1990's, but it is so over-the-top unrealistic and ridiculous, that makes me watch it every single time I see it on tv....and I own it on DVD. Besides it's intense action scenes, this film rates very highly on the unintentional comedy scale. Seriously, who thought of the idea, "Let's take the worst, most dangerous criminals in America and put them on a plane together. I really don't think anything wrong will or can happen. There is no way, they will come up with a plan to try and overtake the plane with only three guards on board." Keep in mind that if this concept doesn't seem unrealistic enough for you, this is before John Malkovich builds a bomb....in prison. As well as before they land a plan in the middle of the Las Vegas strip that kills and injuries the prisoners only, and no civilians to speak of. I mean, come on! I can't imagine a scenario like this ever happening in real life. Nicolas Cage (awesome hair and all), saves America from these criminals and their ludicrous plans. Why? Cause he's awesome, that's why. I mean the man can do hand stand push-ups for crying out loud!
Sure people laughed when they heard Cage might play Superman, but this movie portrays Cage as a great lead for an action movie box office smash. Keep in mind, this was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and it did gross over $100 million in the United States alone. For those who say that this was a fluke, well it was not the only awesome action movie Nic Cage was in, it wasn't even his first mega action hit.
If you think of the wrestler when you hear someone say "The Rock," you seriously need to bone up own on your action flicks from 1996. To summarize, Alcatraz has been taken hostage by a group of Marines who have access to a lethal chemical weapon. Cage plays FBI chemical weapons expert Stanley Goodspeed who has to infiltrate Alcatraz with a Navy SEAL team and the only person to ever escape from Alcartraz (played by Sean Connery). Cage portrays the nerdy and dorky Goodspeed perfectly, yet as dorky as he is, its not that out of reach to assume someone has hot as Vanessa Marcil (who plays his girlfriend Carla, a former prom queen) would date his character. You never say to yourself, "Why would she date him?" Serious awesome points go to Cage due to that fact alone. It not only takes great acting ability to pull that off, but general awesomeness as well. Anyway, as the movie progresses, Cage starts to beat some people up, even though he plays a scientist, and not a field agent. Sure he gets his butt kicked at some parts, but that's expected as well. Again, this doesn't seem so out of reach because Cage manages to pull it off so easily. Heroically, Cage saves the day at the end of the film, albeit with a little help from Connery. The Rock made over $130 million in the box office in the United States alone and was the seventh highest grossing film of 1996 in the US, and the fourth highest worldwide. Does Cage get the credit he deserves for this? Nope, personally I think this is a very underrated movie, and people don't realize how successful The Rock really was. It also did wonders for Cage's career, as it brought him into the discussion of mainstream actors. Unfortunately for him though, it left him vulnerable for criticism and did not praise him for his deserved awesomeness.
After the previewing of Cage's film Knowing, Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman wrote an article in March 2009, accusing Cage of "selling out." In the article, titled "Nicolas Cage: Artist or hack? The choice is his", Gleiberman states that Cage should return to dramas as opposed to only making high-paying blockbusters. I know I'm tempted to ask Glieberman if he has even seen The Rock before if he is going to pose such a question because there is no way you can say that about Cage unless you have not seen this film. Unless Cage doesn't get the props he deserves, which certainly seems to be the case. One can even make the argument that The Rock jump started the Bay-Bruckheimer production of mega action hits from the 1990s - present day. Whether you view that as a good thing or a bad thing is a matter of opinion, but one thing that can't be argued is that it takes someone truly awesome to start such a trend.
The Family Man is a great movie, and shows how awesome Nic Cage is in a different light other than action superstar. For those who missed out on it, Nicolas Cage plays a Wall Street playboy who wakes up in an alternate life where he married his college sweetheart (Tea Leoni). It's like a cousin to It's A Wonderful Life. Predictably, when he is about to go back to his original life, he realizes that he belongs with Leoni. Once he goes back to his old life he chases after her character, and stops her at the airport right before she is about to board her plane. To win her heart, he says one of my favorite monologues in movie history:
"We have a house in Jersey. We have two kids, Annie and Josh. Annie's not much of a violin player, but she tries real hard. She's a little precocious, but that's only because she says what's on her mind. And when she smiles... And Josh, he has your eyes. He doesn't say much, but we know he's smart. He's always got his eyes open, he's always watching us. Sometimes you can look at him and you just know he's learning something new. It's like witnessing a miracle. The house is a mess but it's ours. After 122 more payments, it's going to be ours. And you, you're a non-profit lawyer. That's right, you're completely non-profit, but that doesn't seem to bother you. And we're in love. After 13 years of marriage we're still unbelievably in love. You won't even let me touch you until I've said it. I sing to you. Not all the time, but definitely on special occasions. We've dealt with our share of surprises and made a lot of sacrifices but we've stayed together. You see, you're a better person than I am. And it made me a better person to be around you. I don't know, maybe it was just all a dream. Maybe I went to bed one lonely night in December and I imagined it all. But I swear, nothing has ever felt more real. And if you get on that plane right now, it'll disappear forever. I know we could both go on with our lives and we'd both be fine, but I've seen what we could be like together. And I choose us."
I think that if anyone else chased down Tea Leoni at an airport down and uttered this speech, she would say thanks, and then proceed to board to her plane. But it's not just anyone who chases her down. It's the underrated Nic Cage...and he is awesome, which she realizes, so she decided to chose him too. My friend and I quote this speech to each other on a frequent basis because it is so awesome. I don't know about you, but I know every time I go to the airport I'm always hoping someone pulls a Nic Cage and does that to me. (Note: You know someone is truly awesome, when you can say pulls a _____ referring to an individual.) But does Nic Cage get the respect for being awesome that he deserves? From a general consensus, I think not. But he definitely should.
Think about this though, Nicolas Cage is so awesome, that I didn't even mention that he did win an Oscar for Leaving Las Vegas, and was nominated for another in Adaptation. (Side note: Great movie if you're interested in seeing how scripts for movies are written). I also didn't discuss how The Weather Man is one of the funniest movies no one has seen, and he has made another over-the-top unrealistic and ridiculous action movie in Face-Off. Nicolas Cage, you maybe an underappreciated awesome celebrity by the world, but not by us. Congrats on being the first member of this club and website.
