Much like life in Forest Gump, Nicolas Cage is like a box of chocolates. One moment he can be delivering an Oscar-winning performance and the next he can be punching women in the face while dressed as a bear and screaming maniacally. To say that the quality of his delivery can sometimes be a little inconsistent would therefore be a bit of an understatement.
One thing that can always be counted on, however, is his ability to entertain. He’s averaged just shy of three movies per year throughout his four decades in Hollywood; during which time he’s appeared in his fair share of flops. Even in the terrible movies though, his unconventional approach to acting still manages to evoke a strong reaction from viewers.
Updated May 2, 2022, by Tom Bowen: Few actors are quite as divisive as Nicolas Cage. To some, he is one of the finest actors of the modern era, boasting incredible range and unmatchable versatility. To others, however, he is an enigmatic oddball who subverts expectations at every twist and turn; not always in a good way. Cage recently starred in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent; an action-comedy that focuses on a fictionalized version of the fossil-collecting philanthropist. Early reviews of the movie have been largely positive, though it doesn’t quite make the list of the best Nicolas Cage movies of all time; at least not according to Metacritic, anyway.
12 Color Out of Space (2020) - 70
Released in early 2020, Color Out of Space might just be the most unusual Nicolas Cage film to date; which is really saying something. Based on an H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, the movie sees Cage and his on-screen family possessed by a mysterious entity after a meteor crash-lands in their front yard. What follows is both beautifully presented and incredibly surreal.
The latter arguably lends itself well to Cage’s incredible range, which is front and center throughout much of the movie. It’s one that should definitely appeal to fans of both surrealism and horror and yet another great example of the versatility and depth of Nicolas Cage.
11 Bringing Out The Dead (1999) - 70
Nicolas Cage has worked with some wonderful directors throughout his career, but his sole collaboration with the great Martin Scorsese came in the form of the 1999 title Bringing Out the Dead. In it, he plays an overworked paramedic who is haunted by the ghosts of the patients he has lost. As events unfold, his character’s grasp on reality continues to slip leading to some questionable decisions and increasingly bizarre moments.
While the movie is very much in keeping with the work of Cage, its supernatural elements and the cold and gloomy tone throughout were very out of keeping with Scorsese’s typical style. It bombed at the box office and divided critics with some praising its gritty portrayal of reality and others bemoaning its cumbersome writing and lackluster climax.
10 Birdy (1984) - 71
Cage was able to land some fairly big roles at the beginning of his career, one of which came in the 1984 drama Birdy. He missed out on the titular role though, instead being cast as his best friend Al. Their friendship is explored through a series of flashbacks as are their experiences during their time serving in the Vietnam war.
The movie proved to be incredibly popular with critics with many commenting on the strength of the movie’s narrative and writing. This was perhaps to be expected given that it is based on William Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel of the same name. Sadly, however, the movie struggled to make much of an impression at the box office resulting in a seven-figure loss for the studio.
9 Joe (2014) - 74
Although best known for his appearances in big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, Cage has appeared in his fair share of independent movies as well. Joe had a production budget of just $4 million and yet was still unable to turn a profit in spite of the huge impression that it made on critics.
The movie sees Cage play the role of Joe Ransom, the foreman of a lumber crew in the heart of Texas, and details his efforts to protect one of his team from their abusive father. It’s one of the veteran actor’s strongest performances but was overshadowed somewhat by the tragic death of one of his co-stars shortly before the movie’s premiere.
8 Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) - 74
Given the huge back catalog of movies that the pair have appeared in individually, it’s perhaps a little surprising that Jim Carrey and Nicolas Cage have only shared the stage on a single occasion. It came in the 1986 comedy-drama Peggy Sue Got Married, which also happened to be directed by Cage’s uncle Francis Ford Coppola who found himself directing his nephew for the third and final time.
The movie made a huge return on its $7 million budget and was later adapted into a musical that appeared in London’s West End. It received fairly positive reviews from critics as well, although Cage’s co-star Kathleen Turner provided a pretty damning assessment of his performance and conduct in her 2008 memoir.
7 Red Rock West (1993) - 79
Written and directed by John Dahl, Red Rock West is a neo-noir thriller in which Cage plays a drifter who’s mistaken for a hitman. Its narrative can at times feel a little far-fetched and the writing is unashamedly over the top, but these things do little to detract from the quality of the acting on display.
One of the things that makes the movie really stand out, however, is the way that it is able to mix together elements of various genres so seamlessly. At its heart, it is a thriller, but it could also be described as a black comedy and shares similarities with some of the classic western movies from several decades prior. It’s a great movie, but as a piece of art, it is absolutely fantastic.
6 Mandy (2018) - 81
Elijah Wood is best known for his performances as Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings movies, but he is actually a man of many hats. As well as a fairly successful voice acting career, he also had his own record label for a while and is currently the Creative Director of a production company that specializes in horror movies. In 2018, they released Mandy.
It tells the story of a man’s quest for vengeance after his wife is burned alive in front of him by the sadistic leader of a hippie cult. It’s the perfect setting for Cage to do what he does best and features plenty of harrowing moments throughout its two-hour runtime. He also spends the vast majority of the movie with blood on his face making his character’s name, Red, incredibly apt.
5 Pig (2021) - 82
Every once in a while, a movie comes completely out of left field to shock and surprise viewers. Pig is perhaps one such movie, with Nicolas Cage taking on the role of a man on a mission to find his prized truffle pig after it is stolen from him at the beginning of the movie. Like many of the actor’s earlier outings, it’s an awfully wild ride, but one with a surprisingly poignant feel to it all.
Though Rob starts out as a fairly one-dimensional character, his journey to find Brandy provides much greater depth than it has any real right to do. Granted, certain scenes and sections of the movie are a little bizarre and there are one or two questions about the hermit that remain unanswered, but Pig is a fantastic movie nonetheless and one that deserved far more recognition than it ended up receiving.
4 Face/Off (1997) - 82
Face/Off might not be Nicolas Cage at his absolute best, but it is definitely one of his most memorable movies. He and co-star John Travolta do a fantastic job of bringing their respective characters to life and are equally adept when the time comes for the two men to trade places.
There are certainly some logical flaws scattered throughout the movie, but, given its overall premise, it’s perhaps best not to take things too seriously. In spite of any shortcomings though, it delivered a 300% return on its investment and provided some of the inspiration for Andrew Lau’s 2002 title Infernal Affairs. The aforementioned title would then go on to inspire The Departed; which remains the only movie for which Martin Scorsese has won the Academy Award for Best Director.
3 Leaving Las Vegas (1995) - 82
While on the subject of Oscars, it may surprise a few to learn that Nicolas Cage has one. Anybody who’s actually seen Leaving Last Vegas though will know that it was fully deserved. It is by far Cage’s most compelling performance to date and an absolute masterpiece of modern cinema that everyone should see at least once.
Cage plays a Hollywood screenwriter named Ben whose life has been ravaged by alcoholism. After he’s let go from his job due to his drinking, he decides to take his severance check to Vegas and literally drink himself to death. There are times when it’s difficult to watch, but equally difficult to look away thanks to the wonderful performances of Cage and his co-star Elisabeth Shue.
2 Moonstruck (1987) - 83
Cher and Nicolas Cage are perhaps the last two people one would expect to find starring together in a rom-com, but that’s exactly what happened in 1987’s Moonstruck. Once you get past the absurdity of the casting, however, it’s actually a fairly solid title with quite a few humorous moments.
It also happens to be one of the most critically acclaimed movies that Cage has ever appeared in. Not only does it hold the joint highest rating for a Cage movie on Metacritic, but it was also nominated for six Oscars; winning three of them. Cage wasn’t amongst the winners on this occasion, but his on-screen lover did come away with the Best Actress award.
1 Adaptation. (2002) - 83
Adaptation. sees Nicolas Cage playing the role of the movie’s writer Charlie Kaufman as well as his fictional twin brother Donald. It might seem like one of those bad Eddie Murphy or Adam Sandler movies at first glance, but it’s actually an incredibly well-written movie that’s not at all afraid to be different.
Cage received his second Academy Award nomination for Best Actor for his wonderful performance(s) and the movie generated a modest return on its $19 million budget. It’s absolutely worth the price of admission, if only to see Nicolas Cage in a fat suit. In all seriousness though, it’s a unique movie that is both hilarious and intriguing.
