Why Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent's Reviews Are So Good
Nicolas Cage’s meta-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has already garnered positive reviews even prior to its theatrical release. Directed by Tom Gormican, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent celebrates Nicolas Cage, his filmography, and the movie industry. The action-comedy stars Cage as a fictionalized version of himself, alongside Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Lily Sheen, Neil Patrick Harris, Ike Barinholtz, and Tiffany Haddish. With this production ensemble, it is no wonder that The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has an overwhelmingly good reception.
Compared to his previous movie roles, Nicolas Cage expressed hesitation in playing the film’s down-on-his-luck, egocentric version of himself since it bore little resemblance to his actual personality. In fact, he even turned down the role at least three times. Eventually, Cage was convinced when Gormican wrote him an impassioned letter that genuinely admired the actor’s previous works. Almost three years after Lionsgate acquired its production rights, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is set for release on April 22, 2022.
As of writing, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent holds an 89% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 104 critic reviews. The film’s Certified Fresh rating is supported by the critics’ consensus: “Smart, funny, and wildly creative, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent presents Nicolas Cage in peak gonzo form — and he's matched by Pedro Pascal's scene-stealing performance.” Critics have praised the film’s brilliant self-aware premise, effectively honoring Nicolas Cage’s scenery-chewing movie performances and legacy while creating a commentary about the industry. Although the plot immediately becomes reminiscent of typical action movies, it manages to redeem itself. While it does not take itself seriously, the movie, which is arguably one of Cage’s most interesting ones, still successfully reintroduces him to a newer audience and highlights his high-caliber performance. Here are more of the positive reviews for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent:
In the end, the film raises a glass to Nicolas Cage as a screen icon and a one-of-a-kind performer, as well as someone incapable of half-assing it no matter the circumstances. And in 2022, the picture feels like a mournful remembrance of the very idea of movie stardom, that an actor could be the most memorable thing in a given movie.
“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” is the first essential Nicolas Cage movie in at least a dozen years. It’s practically a resurrection, bringing a fun, unique actor back from low-budget, straight-to-video purgatory.
Considering how many mediocre films fans have sat through in order to be considered a Cage completist, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent is a well-deserved reward. [...] This is the best possible version of one of those direct-to-video films, and everything a fan could want from Cage.
But as one would expect, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent succeeds because of the massive talent at the center of the film.
Inventing a fictionalized version of the actor who struggles to live a human life while being goaded toward greatness [sic] by the ghost of his wild-at-heart younger self, Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a romp aimed at cultists who have sought out the Crazy Cage performances and forgiven the misfires in between.
If The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is hiding a secret, it’s that this isn’t just a movie about Cage and his career—although it is most assuredly that—it’s that this is a movie about loving movies.
The mere thought that Cage, who revels in delivering the unexpected, would be playing a somewhat stylized version of himself for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent felt like the type of project only Cage could pull off, though ran the risk of being as effective as something along the lines of Snakes on a Plane, where the concept alone is more compelling to the Internet than the execution. The end result is an experience that is elevated by the inclusion of Cage and heightened by the absurdity of him playing himself, even if it can't avoid falling into the underwhelming trajectories of mainstream action-comedies.
On the other hand, some critics argue that The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is simply a disappointment. The promising concept is instantly overshadowed by the film’s attempt at a buddy comedy, which then shifts the focus to Cage and The Mandalorian’s lead, Pedro Pascal. Additionally, other reviews point out how, without the chemistry between the lead actors, the film boils down to nothing of importance — especially since Cage arguably does not need redemption at this point. Here are more of the negative reviews for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent:
You wish the movie wasn’t content to be a feature-length meme and truly deserved what Cage is doing with this long, hard look in the fun-house mirror. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is not unbearable by any means. It just should have been so much better.
Cowritten (with Kevin Etten) and directed by sophomore feature filmmaker Tom Gormican, “Unbearable Weight” name-checks like a maniac, dropping one-liners about Cage’s nutty resume (”Con Air” and “Guarding Tess”) while having the boy-men played by Cage and Pascal discuss the action-movie compromises they’ll have to make in the screenplay they’re writing. That joke feels like an apology for the film; self-referentiality without a twist is just settling for less. Comedies need the courage of their convictions, and the guts to forego anything that doesn’t add to the fun.
Time:
Poke beneath the aggressive fun of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and you’ll find a depressing act of redemption that doesn’t really need to happen.
A cheap, crass and ruthlessly sloppy skewering of celebrity culture that is barely a millimetre above the material it thinks it is so sharply satirizing, Gormican’s new film is the definition of disappointment. I would say that the filmmaker hit the jackpot by convincing Cage to star in his Hollywood-plays-itself comedy (was his backup choice John Travolta?) but that goes against the movie’s own reality-mining conceit: As we’ve seen time and again, Cage will take any project that lands in his lap.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent feels like a fitting project for a household name such as Nicolas Cage. After all, although he has already established himself in the industry, he still has more talent left to showcase. However, despite the positive reviews, the public is still free to form their own opinion since this movie is made especially for them.