Today we go through the outcome of groups A-D of Cage Off. What’s Cage Off? Maybe you need to read all about it here.
Shock outcome from the very start with the seeded film, Knowing, tumbling out. Of course, it’s less of a shock if you’ve actually seen the film. Look at the cover. Nicolas Cage is full-on po-faced in this one about a series of numbers which predict catastrophes.
Bringing out the Dead was the clear winner on the groups that it’s a great film, with a strong performance from Cage falling apart as a stressed paramedic.
Honeymoon in Vegas convincingly took second spot, helped along by a decent performance from James Caan. It’s fun.
In third place is Primal. Will that be good enough to make it through? Time will tell. It’s a ridiculous film, moreso than Knowing. Cage is a hunter, Frank Walsh, on a boat with a white jaguar and a serial killer. With that premise it should have been so much better.
Huge gap between the top two and the bottom two here. We’ll discuss Adaptation and Moonstruck more in the knockout phase. Basically, Cage plays two characters in Adaptation, so that was always going to have an advantage, and he’s a lesser player in Moonstruck, which is very much Cher’s movie, though he does turn the intensity up to 11 as Ronny.
Tokarev pips Running ith the Devil as result of being slightly more intense. Neither film is great. They’re reasonably well-made thrillers. In both, Cage’s character is functional, but not particularly intense. Tokarev does try to keep a secret hidden in the plot, and the twist is a pretty big one, which is probably why it edged in front of Running with the Devil – but will it be enough for to make it one of the best third-placed films. Probably not.
You get those groups in these kind of competitions sometimes, where all of those in it would possibly be eliminated if they were pitched against different films. That’s probably unfair on The Trust, which is a lot of fun. Bangkok Dangerous isn’t. And it should be. The other two in this group are clunkers though. The only thing going for Christian-propaganda-rapture vehicle, Left Behind is Cage’s character name Rayford Steele. Rayford Steele deserved a better film. He’s a sinner, so he’s not getting into heaven. But will he be able to land that plane?
The Humanity Bureau takes place in the near future. Those who aren’t contributing to society are rounded up and sent to another community, but no one ever seems to return from there. Cage is an operative from The Hunamity Bureau who seems to have a sudden change of heart when forced to send a mother and chlid on their way. It has potential, but ultimately doesn’t reach it.
The seeded movie, Ghost Rider sneaks through on the virtue of Cage’s performance as Johnny Blaze. He does a fabulously over-the-top job every time his face catches fire in an otherwise disappointing movie. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent stormed to first place and will be discussed further.
Trapped in Paradise is a pretty fun Christmas movie in which the Firpo brothers decide to rob the bank in the town of Paradise on Christmas Eve, but then get stuck. The trouble with it is that of the three brothers, Cage plays the sensible one, which is a bit of a waste. Southern Fury is pinned to the bottom. Great Cage wige and prosthetics, but he’s hardly in it. Storywise, it’s another one of those thrillers with a few twists and turns, but it does nothing new, and doesn’t deserve a place in the next round. Does Trapped in paradise? We’ll see.
With the first 4 groups decided, we can place the first 8 films in the knockout stage, which even reveals one of the first knockout ties:
Come back soon as we go through groups E-H, and then I-M – andd find out which those lucky 6 3rd placed movies are that sneak through to the knock out stage!
Cage Off is brought to you by The Unofficial and Unauthorised Nicolas Cage Puzzlebook.
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