The Mosley Review: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

We've all seen our share of meta driven stories and biopics, but I haven't seen one like this. This film follows one of the greatest actors ever to grace the screen with his insane talent and well, I think it would be far to almost call this a documentary. There were some unforgettably zanny moments that pretty much some up the persona of Nicolas Cage and some moments of heartbreaking truth. The ups and downs of an actor are not surprising, but once you get an understanding of what its like to be on top for so long and then fall, it can be humbling. That's what I gleamed from this fun adventure into the life of a consistently memed star. To say I didn't have fun with the otherwise forgettable plot, would be disingenuous and unfair. There were moments where I felt that a plot line went nowhere and was abruptly severed, but other than that I could tell that everyone was there to celebrate Cage and his life achievements.

Nicolas Cage was in fact himself and in 2 different ways. The hungry actor that loves to work and his internal voice that manifested into the "Wild at Heart" personality named Nicky Cage. He plays both himself and his internal voice with such ease and levity. It felt like I was watching him have a public therapy session and it was great. He was hilarious and intense in all the perfect ways you'd imagine. Sharon Horgan was great as his ex-wife Olivia and I loved that there was still some love between them even if they're divorced. Their chemistry was excellent and I liked that he was able to accept her calling him out on his crap. Lily Sheen was fantastic as his daughter Abby. All of her scenes are great with him, but the best came once she finally has a heart to heart with him late into the film. Pedro Pascal was perfect as the billionaire fan Javi Gutierrez. He pretty much represents us as he geeks out on this wild adventure. I loved his genuine excitement and care for Nicolas. Their chemistry was the heart of the film and I loved every hilarious moment they were together. Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz were great as the CIA agents Vivian and Martin Etten. I liked their scenes as comic relief and they had an awesome heist scene in the film that was hilarious. Both did a great job and they didn't over stay their welcome. Neil Patrick Harris was fun as his agent Richard Fink and he truly represented the flip flop nature of the business.

The score by Mark Isham was good and helped with the intensity of some scenes and heightened the comedy in one particular moment. There really isn’t much more that I can say accept that this film does take some wild unexpected turns that truly kept me invested. If you're looking for a fun and small action comedy, then this is it. If you're looking for the best Nicolas Cage experience, then this is one of the better ones but my choice will always either be The Rock or Gone in 60 Seconds. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!