I can't help but, on today of all days, remember the actor that taught me so much about being true to myself. He has graced the big screen over 100 times and has left an undeniable impression on myself and, dare I say, the world. He is the type of man that I aspire to—that I model myself on. I wouldn't say he's a god, but there are few other apt comparisons. Whether he is being hypnotized by his cobras, practising his nouveau shamanism, or paying off his back taxes, he is always iconic. He is Nic Cage, and it's important that we take a moment to remember him and his ingenious, indelible mark on cinema.
From his humble beginnings in the Cage family, Nic would make a name for himself through precise script selection. His big break came before his 20th birthday, when an upstart director cast him in Rumble Fish. This movie was the perfect launching pad for Nic, allowing him to show his tough-guy persona in a movie with art-house tendencies. It being a black-and-white movie in the technicolour age was enough to make me an immediate fan. I was further enthralled by his genius reinterpretation (some, not me, would call it mimicry) of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.
After watching Rumble Fish, I changed my entire personality. I started walking, dressing, and talking like Rusty James and Smokey. On the mean streets of my suburban neighbourhood in my denim and leather I looked for a rumble. To be fair, I was always looking for a rumble, but this movie confirmed my desires. I needed a rumble. When I found one, it was a different story.
In 1997, Cage would change my life forever by pushing the boundaries of story and cinema to the extreme. When I entered the theatre that fateful day in June, I did not know what genius awaited me. Cage starred alongside Travolta in one of the most mind-bending action movies of all time: Face/Off. A movie with a concept so ingenious that I've never seen anyone replicated it. An FBI agent (Travolta) and a terrorist (Cage) swap faces. Travolta acts like he's Cage, Cage acts like he's Travolta. Sometimes, my 2025 mind can't comprehend that a movie like Face/Off was made. It's like how I don't understand how the Egyptians made the Pyramids. It's a mythic movie that, for me, gets better with each passing year. I'd go as far as to say that Face/Off holds the same cultural value for the 1990s as Gone With the Wind does for the 1930s. Travolta and Cage are our Gable and Leigh.
But that's mainstream Cage. He's so much more than a few box-office bangers. He's also a consummate risk taker. I'm here to remember that Cage, the real Cage. He had worked for decades but nothing could prepare me or the world for what he had planned for us in the 21st century. He would transform from man to immortal in his late-2000s golden era.
I'm not being facetious when I say that Nic Cage's Ghost Rider and Eric Bana's Hulk started the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if history tells you that it was Iron Man. Ghost Rider was too advanced for critics and I don't blame anyone for not understanding Johnny Blaze. He was so ahead of the curve that I personally still haven't fully grasped what he was going for. Great artists are often overlooked, initially, as the world tries to comprehend their genius. Rumours abound about this cutting-edge movie. One whisper I heard is that there was no CGI, that Cage really peeled his own skin off for the scenes where he's a skeleton. I knew, when I walked out of the theatre in 2007, that Ghost Rider had set the bar too high. Cage had gone too hard. The world wasn't ready for the sauce he was serving. And it showed when the MCU was unable to replicate its ingenuity. Instead, they shunned Ghost Rider and Eric Bana. They knew that Cage was too tough, his swag was too different, he'd outshine all the other heroes. So, out of what can only be described as pity for lesser actors, they decided to go in a different direction.
I thought that Ghost Rider's success would be enough for Cage in 2007 but I was so, so wrong. He would appear in three more movies that year, and one of these motion pictures stands out for its groundbreaking ingenuity. Next tells the story of a man with an nondescript name who can see two minutes into his own future. Cage does what he does best and acts like he's the smartest guy in the room. Dating back to at least 2004's National Treasure, this character trait is essential to understanding the CCU (Cage Cinematic Universe). For 96 glorious minutes, we watch as Cage outsmarts everyone, from the FBI to the terrorists, only for an ending so perfect that I dare not spoil it here! All I can say is that this should be your next movie.
What I admire about Nic is that he isn't one to let a good idea go by on only one movie. If he knows he's won me over with an exciting premise, he's willing to give me what I want—another movie that treads in very similar waters. After nearly finding financial success with Next, Cage knew that he was on the cusp of something revolutionary. He had to go back to the seeing-the-future plot for another movie. And that movie would come in 2009. Knowing, although it may look similar to Next on paper, could not be further from the same thing. It is the perfect blend of what worked in Next and what worked in National Treasure. Another guy with an nondescript name unearths a secret document written by a child that has dates that line up with world disasters. Imagine if Nic got his hands on the Nostradamus prophecies and you have Knowing. I remember watching the trailer and thinking, "This looks a lot like Next." Needless to say, I was seated for opening weekend of Knowing and it's another Cage movie that changed my entire personality.
Next, Knowing and, to a lesser extent, National Treasure had me thinking I could see the future and that there were unearthed mysteries around every corner. I was looking for (and finding) secret messages everywhere. I couldn't walk down the road without seeing symbols, answers, possibilities. It's fair to say that Nic opened my third eye. The veil was lifted. The answers were there, if I could only decipher them. To this day, I can't help but wonder how it's all connected. And I know Cage has felt the same way. He went on a literal hunt for the Holy Grail. This kind of role commitment and commitment to the unknown is what makes Nic my icon.
It's important to remember this legend. He's not dead or anything, but it's worth taking the time today to think of Nic, what he might be doing, what movie he might be greenlighting. Why should I wait until someone passes to give them their flowers? Society says it's the right thing to do, but I think it's a mistake. I can't wait to see what Nic comes up with next. Rumble Fish 2? I can only dream. Happy April Fools' Day!
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