Nicolas Cage has starred in several blockbusters and won an Oscar in his career. At the same time, the actor has had his fair share of movies that are considered, especially in the 2010s when his career went through a tumultuous phase. Never the one to shy away from bizarre and experimental roles, Cage ended up doing critically-acclaimed movies like Joe and Mandy along with notorious releases like Left Behind and 211.
While Cage has done some so-called "bad movies" in the past (Zandalee, Deadfall), the 2010s saw him act in a slew of direct-to-DVD movies almost all of which were critical flops. And yet there is something about Cage's energetic persona and eccentric overacting that continues to draw fans to his work. Hence, some of his worst movies actually make for good guilty pleasures.
Drive Angry (2011)
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John Milton escapes from Hell while stealing Satan's personal gun, The Godkiller. He returns to Earth to seek revenge on a cult leader who killed his daughter. All hell breaks loose as Cage's Milton hijacks cars and embarks on a cross-country road trip to track the Satan-worshipping antagonist.
With a plot so outrageous, it is easy to conclude that Drive Angry is no arthouse cinema. Rather, it is a grindhouse treat and might even double as a "big-budget B-movie." The cheesy dialogue and car chase sequences are over-the-top but they still add some mindless fun to the pantheon of horror movies about devil worshippers. Cage's acting is reminiscent of a similar role in Ghost Rider while William Fitcher steals the show playing Satan's ant.
Army Of One (2016)
Rent On Apple TV
These days, Nicolas Cage seems to be intentionally picking up the most absurd of projects. The adventure comedy Army of One bears testimony to this. The one-man army in question is the ex-con Gary Faulkner, a man who receives a divine dream in which God himself instructs him to kill Osama Bin Laden. Armed with a katana, Faulkner takes it upon himself to slay the terrorist leader in Pakistan.
The movie was subjected to overwhelmingly negative reviews but its unconventional premise itself makes it worth checking out. If all of this wasn't strange enough, God and Bin Laden also appear in Army of One as ing characters.
The Wicker Man (2006)
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Sometimes, The Wicker Man belongs in the latter category, offering Nicolas Cage at his overacting best (or "worst" as the critics would call it). The actor plays a police officer whose pursuit of his missing daughter lands him on an island inhabited by "neo-pagans."
The atmospheric tension of the original British folk horror movie is turned into unintentional comedy in the American remake. The highlight is, of course, the infamous final scene in which Cage's character is sacrificed and tortured with live bees. Cage screaming "Not the bees" has become a viral Internet meme since then.
Grand Isle (2019)
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A campy noir thriller, Grand Isle kicks off with a young man visiting a house owned by two terrifying strangers. One is a disgruntled Vietnam War veteran while the other is his wife who is obsessed with having children. As the couple reveals some dark secrets from their past, chaos ensues.
Grand Isle could have been an intriguing watch but rather, it just turns into a panic-inducing series of scattered misadventures. The highlight for Nic Cage fans is the actor's typical outbursts of anger, complete with loud yells and exaggerated physical mannerisms. KaDee Strickland s in the fun with an equally emotive display of overacting. A case in point is a scene where they both shower each other with verbal expletives because Cage's character forgot their 15-year anniversary.
Ghost Rider (2007)
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Nicolas Cage's first tryst with the superhero genre was the Ghost Rider franchise. While both movies drew negative reactions, the first one still has some rewatch value to it. The visual effects might not be top-notch but Nicholas Cage transforming into the blazing skeletal hero is bizarrely cool for its time.
Wes Bentley's villainous turn as the devil's son Blackheart is also decent enough while Sam Elliott also appears in the movie as Caretaker, the former "cowboy Ghost Rider." Superhero movies are subverting the genre with more emotional depth and inter-franchise connections. However, if viewers are looking for a simple entertainer in the genre, then Ghost Rider would be a good blast from the past.
G-Force (2009)
Stream On Disney+
Nicolas Cage is no stranger to voice-acting, lending his voice to acclaimed movies like Into The Spider-Verse. But before these screen credits, he voiced the star-nosed mole Speckles in the Disney comedy G-Force. The titular special security team comprises trained guinea pigs whose latest mission includes taking down a tech billionaire.
The movie's concept is intentionally silly as it is, after all, intended for younger viewers. And maybe, that's why it can still be enjoyed despite the low ratings. Cage's character is the strategist of G-Force which also includes other creatures voiced by Sam Rockwell, Penélope Cruz, and Jon Favreau.
Season Of The Witch (2011)
Stream On Starz
A medieval fantasy movie starring Nicolas Cage and Claire Foy, Season of the Witch finds the latter playing an alleged witch while the former appears as a knight tasked with taking her to a monastery. On the journey ahead, the knight's loyalties are tested as he gets to know more about the so-called "witch."
Much like The Wicker Man, Season of the Witch seems intense on the surface but it plays out as an unintentional comedy. The outdated VFX and the clunky writing accompany a visibly dull Nicolas Cage. Still, if fans wondered about Cage's chemistry with a character actor like Ron Perlman or Claire Foy's pre-The Crown fame career, they must still give the movie a shot.
USS Indianapolis: Men Of Courage (2016)
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There are simply so many World War II movies in existence that it is difficult to craft a movie from this period that is not riddled with the same, old recurring tropes. USS Indianapolis is indeed a different kind of World War movie as it feels more like a low-budget disaster flick set in the middle of the War.
Inspired by the real-life crew of the ship which was sunk in shark-infested waters, Cage leads the ensemble cast like the naval captain he portrays. While critics say that USS Indianapolis is a sinking ship of a movie, there is some pulp-level fun to be found out of this disaster vehicle.
Deadfall (1993)
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To put it simply, Deadfall is largely considered to be one of the worst Nicolas Cage movies. The plot involves a con artist searching for a doppelganger of his father for a sting operation. Cage appears as Eddie King, a terrifying crime boss with an even more terrifying mustache.
Nicolas Cage's brother and Francis Ford Coppola's nephew Christopher Coppola directed this crime drama. Deadfall is clearly no Godfather but Cage fans can still the earliest hints of his "screaming and throwing" style of acting.
Left Behind (2014)
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As the world ends in a Biblical catastrophe, the few survivors who are left try to make sense of their post-apocalyptic life. Nicolas Cage plays a pilot who is also shown as a negligent father and husband. In the course of the so-called "Rapture," he must deal with his personal issues as well as the general chaos of the world. But the actual chaos turns out to be the movie as a whole.
A three-time Razzie nominee, Left Behind is a movie to be "left behind" if the viewers expect a good-quality Nicolas Cage movie. But for those who can stick around for the actor's worst works, Left Behind will be a classic. After all, even Rotten Tomatoes rated it at 1%!
