Separating the wheat from the chaff on mid-career Nicolas Cage projects will no doubt make a fit subject for a PhD thesis some day. Till then, we’ll have to rely on hearsay to make informed choices. This one, from a period of mostly cable films churned out six per year 2016 thru 2019, seems reasonably representational and reasonably good . . . within limits. Playing a crooked Las Vegas cop with crooked cop partner Elijah Wood (the difference in height & width giving off a pleasing Mutt & Jeff vibe), the pair stumble across a possible cash rich drug operation moving deposits from casino to industrial district where it’s warehoused. But what exactly are they stockpiling? Cash? Goods? Checks? Chits? Chips? Breaking in will require special skills & special tools; along with the filmmaking chops seen in Jules Dassin’s RIFIFI/’55, apparently not available to writer/director brothers Alex & Benjamin Brewer. Instead, they opt for tone & atmosphere from the 1980s Neo-Noir revival which only partially hides holes in plot, characterization & motivation. But Cage keeps the eccentric line readings down to a minimum, Wood stands up nicely to him, and there’s a neatly constructed, decently executed triple-twist ending involving a surprise guest at the heist. (Plus, Jerry Lewis, in a last appearance, a cameo as Cage’s slightly out-of-it Dad. Given nothing to do, he still overplays.) Only 23 of these things left from this period.
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID: Did Cage buy the same brand of black hair dye Steven Seagal uses?
DOUBLE-BILL: As mentioned RIFIFI/’55.
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