Now that we’ve passed the *current* halfway point in the WATC(H) I’ve reflected a bit on my top Nic Cage films so far. I ranked these based on my level of enjoyment / appreciation, and based on which films I would recommend to someone first / next based on the 54 I’ve seen so far. 

I debated with myself for a while on these so some of the inclusions (omissions) are controversial perhaps.

My Top Fifteen For the First Half

1. Raising Arizona
2. Face/Off
3. Family Man
4. Bringing Out the Dead
5. Adaptation.
6. Matchstick Men
7. Vampire’s Kiss
8. Leaving Las Vegas
9. Moonstruck
10. Con Air
11. The Weather Man
12. Knowing
13. Wild at Heart
14. Bad Lieutenant PoCNO
15. Snake Eyes

We’ll see how many new films enter the “canon” after I watch the second half of his career. Of the few newer ones I’ve seen, I know Pig will make my top 15 but I am not sure about others yet.

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The World According to Astro Boy

Another animated voice role for Mr. Cage. Ho-hum. To me, I watch these “cartoons” because I have to, not because I want to. (Have to eat your vegetables if you want get some dessert.) Evidently this movie, Astro Boy (2009) was based on a classic Japanese manga written and illustrated by Osama Tezuka from the 1950s. The movie was yet another project Nicolas Cage gave his voice to which was received to mixed reviews and financial failure. 

In the story, a scientist Dr. Tenma (Nicolas Cage) loses his son and tries to bring him back as a lifelike copy robot. But his son isn’t quite the same (duh, he’s just a robot / AI, dude, and not the embodiment of your son) so Dr. T decides he’s going to help the military dismantle the boy. Instead the robot who thinks he’s a boy runs away from home, becomes Astro, and lives his life amongst some orphaned kids and a grass-roots group of revolutionary robots. He tries to hide his true identity and then helps the adult ringleader of the Lost Kids build a really big giant robot to fight in a Roman Coliseum style battle before he ends up defeating the military and winning back his father’s love. 

Probably the best part of the movie was the oddball Robot Revolutionary Front (RRF) which was a group of robots trying to fight for robot rights in a world that sees them only as service objects. They were a group of three robots that looked (to me) like an Ice Maker machine, a Fridge, and something else I couldn’t identify. They were the main comic relief and also the most useless in helping anyone.

I don’t know. I think that’s all I’ve got to say about Astro Boy. The CGI animation wasn’t terrible, but it didn’t really do much for me either. 

If you have a five to eight year child or a hardcore Manga friend who digs robots this will be right up their alley. Otherwise, hard pass. Even Nic was kinda boring in this one. Felt like he was just clocking it in.

Firsts for Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma

• Sporting a pointy goatee and sideburns
• Robotics expert
• Loses his son in a robot accident
• Builds a robot replica of his son
• In his first manga / anime adaptation film

Recurrences

• Concerned about bonding time with children (Raising Arizona, The Weather Man, Matchstick Men)
• Starring in an animation that was a failure critically and financially (The Ant Bully)

Quotes

“It’s important to keep studying, onward and upward.”

“It’s gonna make it perfect. Perfect!”

“Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason! I used to read it to you every night before bed.”

“It was a stupid mistake.” 

“Go on and enjoy yourself with the robot ladies and so forth.”