The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Tom Gormican

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan

Release Date: June 21, 2022

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

In this wildly entertaining, action-packed comedy, Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage plays…Nick Cage! Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage accepts a million-dollar offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take an unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and he must use his legendary acting skills, channeling his most iconic and beloved characters to become a real-life action hero.

Please Note: Lionsgate Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray I reviewed in this Post. The opinions I share are my own.

‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ joins superstar actor Nick Cage (played by none other than Nicolas Cage naturally) as his debt continues to build while he struggles to find a notable role to make waves and help secure his comeback in the industry (not that he went anywhere). Desperate to pull in some extra cash, Cage accepts an offer to make an appearance at the birthday party of a wild superfan (Pascal) figuring it will be a quick and much needed payday. But when Cage is recruited by the CIA in order to help take down a dangerous threat, things start to go wrong in nearly every conceivable way. Now he’ll have to channel his acting talents and treat it as an important role if he hopes to help them catch their suspect, not to mention stay alive.

Directed by Tom Gormican (That Awkward Moment) from a screenplay that he additionally co-wrote along with Kevin Etten (TV’s Workaholics), Gormican does a fantastic job at the helm of ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ guiding along the goofy and explosive fun with a perfect tone and style throughout. The film’s cast includes Nicolas Cage (Face/Off), Pedro Pascal (TV’s The Mandalorian), Sharon Horgan (Game Night), Ike Barinholtz (The Hunt), Alessandra Mastronardi (TV’s Master of None), Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life), Neil Patrick Harris (The Matrix Resurrections) and Tiffany Haddish (Like A Boss), with the majority offering solid and fitting performances in each of their respective roles for the most part, although Cage and Pascal both tend the steal the show with their perfectly balanced and incredibly funny performances.

‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is a wildly funny and often action-packed good time that embraces an over the top idea and manages to mold it into comedic gold. Cage gives the performance his all and dials it to eleven throughout, eliciting countless laughs from his expressions and over the top mannerisms alone and his magnificent performance as himself is only perfectly complemented by Pedro Pascal’s flawless delivery of a dangerous superfan who just wants to hang out with Nick and hopefully talk him into starring in his film. The pair bounce off of each other beautifully and their interaction is probably the best thing about this great film and also responsible for many of its biggest laughs.

Everything about this film somehow works better than it should and it comes together splendidly to form what is one of the year’s most enjoyable and amusing offerings so far. I can’t urge everyone strongly enough to make a point of giving ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ a chance whenever possible. It’s a wild, full-caliber good time that utilizes what could have been a terrible idea and somehow turns it into something remarkably special that should have you laughing and thoroughly enjoying yourself every step of the way. Any diehard fans of actor Nicolas Cage won’t want to miss out on this one either which sees Cage at his comedic best.

Overall, ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is simply marvelous. A hilarious, action-packed and massively entertaining ride with an unforgettable performance by Nicolas Cage as himself and an equally witty and funny performance by Pedro Pascal to complement Cage’s, and the end result is something surprisingly special and undeniably worthwhile. ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ is definitely highly recommended. It’s a wonderful and ridiculously enjoyable ride that’s easily worth taking the time to check out, and any fan of Nicolas Cage won’t even want to consider missing out on this one which sees Cage at his best (and wildest) as an over the top version of himself. If you’re already even the slightest bit interested in this one then I would strongly urge you to spend the time and money to rent it; chances are that you’ll be thrilled you did.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original 2.39:1 Cinemascope Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks wonderful and serves up a clean, colorful and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that captures small details and facial features along with more perfectly, from the stubble of a beard to the surrounding scenery. It holds up flawlessly throughout even during the various darkly lit and fast moving sequences, never causing anything that’s occurring onscreen to become negatively affected or problematic at any point. The Dolby Vision addition only improves upon the 4K picture and delivers a gorgeous color grading that’s vibrantly bright when needed, with rich, deep blacks and no crush or other issues ever arising throughout its duration. Overall, this is a magnificent Ultra High Definition video presentation that looks stellar throughout and should easily thrill fans.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack makes a wonderful complement and offers a crisp, smooth and often notably aggressive audio presentation throughout. It constantly takes advantage of all seven available channels in order to send everything from music to crowd chatter, along with gunshots, nature effects and plenty more consistently zipping throughout the various speakers whenever appropriate and always making certain that all dialogue and other audio elements remain clean and full audible every step of the way. Overall, this is a great Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that never disappoints in any way while contributing plenty of extra fun and excitement to the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ includes a nice collection of bonus content that fans of the film should appreciate. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Tom Gormican and Writer Kevin Etten’, in addition to a couple of ‘Deleted Scenes’ from the movie with Optional Commentary by Gormican and Etten (running approximately 5 minutes in length combined). We are also treated to a collection of Behind the Scenes Featurettes that feature interviews/comments with the cast and crew, plus behind the scenes footage and more, in addition to some fun, random videos. The included Featurettes/Videos include ‘The Mind’ (running approximately 7 minutes in length), ‘Glimmers of a Bygone Cage’ (running approximately 5 minutes), ‘Everybody Needs a Javi’ (approximately 4 minutes), ‘Nick, Nicky, and Sergio’ (4 minutes), ‘Second Act Action’ (7 minutes), ‘Cages 5 & Up’ (2 minutes) and the ‘SXSW Film Festival Q&A’ (16 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 9/10
Disc Rating: 8/10

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‘The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from Lionsgate Home Entertainment

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