Dying of the Light (2014)

Waste of time

Such a frustrating disappointment

As Good As It Gets

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

This film is written and directed by one of my favorite filmmakers working today, Paul Schrader. He's most famous for writing Taxi Driver and Raging Bull. However, he also wrote Bringing Out the Dead and directed Dog Eat Dog which I both love and both star Nicolas Cage. The weird thing is that neither Paul Schrader or Nic Cage wants you to see this movie. This is because the Dying of the LIght was taken away from the filmmakers and re-edited by the producers without Paul Scharders approval. He claims that he was literally locked out of the editing room while producers edited the film to their liking. There are points in this film where it truly shows. The version we got is so on and off. There were scenes where I was completely invested in what was unfolding in front of me and other scenes where it was so dull that I just wanted to pass out. The film has great ideas, but it just doesn't do enough with them and when it does something good, the next scene undoes it. At the end of the film, something happens which I found exceptionally impactful and powerful and could have been a great ending, but the next scene completely stabs us in the back and reverses that decision.The editing is unpleasantly sloppy in places which is most apparent during a brief action sequence halfway through the movie. The main character is also fascinating and while Nicolas Cage does a great job, he just isn't explored enough.There is a great film here but it just doesn't make it's way to the surface. What is at the surface is a strange mixture of great and bad. Some scenes in this film or fantastic and some are trash. I hope Paul Schrader's version of the film gets released because I'm positive it is much better than what we got here.

Evan Lake (Nicholas Cage) was a legend at the C.I.A., but after years in the game, and a particularly horrible experience at the hands of the Taliban, he was diagnosed with dementia, and forced into retirement. Lake is moving on with his life when new information comes to light, that his old nemesis, a terrorist leader long believed dead, is back. Knowing their best chance to catch him is Lake, they turn to him for help, but can he keep it together long enough to complete his mission? This unbelievably was a b-movie, yet a remarkably strong performance for Nicholas Cage, who randomly had to go between C.I.A. legend and confused old man. His performance is aided by the late Anton Yelchin, playing an analyst who admires Lake so much, that he goes against orders to help him with his mission. The whole dynamic between the man at the end of his career on his last mission, and the boy at the start of his career on his first mission, really added something different, that you don't typically see in espionage films. Dying of The Light really does have a lot to like about it, but one must remember, it is an espionage film and a direct-to-video one at that. The writing isn't spectacular and parts of it are more than somewhat confusing. They also throw in a lot of Evan's flashbacks and delusions at the completely wrong times, which really did start to bother me as the film got more intense. Overall, I did enjoy this film, I thought the acting was terrific, and I loved the dynamic and chemistry between the two leading men, despite the obvious age difference. Dying of The Light certainly isn't a perfect movie, but it's still an entertaining one.

As with, well let's be honest, all of Nicolas Cage movies, then I am sitting down to watch the movie with very little expectations, because there is an overshadowing tendency that his movies turn out to be generic and cut from overly used recipes. And should it turn out to be that particular movie that surprises, once in a blue moon, then it is that much more pleasant to watch.However, "Dying of the Light" is one of those types of movies that has potential to be interesting, but it was squandered at the hands of director Paul Schrader. The movie turned out to be a very predictable and thus very generic movie for the thriller/drama genre.The acting in the movie was as to be expected. You have your ever-present single facial expression and random outbursts of loud voicing from Nicolas Cage. And he seemed like a fish out of water in this movie, trying to portray a government employee diagnosed with a debilitating mental illness.The movie follows a generic script and storyline, which has been seen and used in countless other movies prior to this 2014 movie. As such, then there is very little new to be had for the audience that actually do take the time to sit down and watch "Dying of the Light". And while it was scripted, then the movie also progressed way too fast, which essentially made the movie seemed forced and shallow.You know what you are getting yourself into here if you take a minute to read the synopsis, and with the thought of it being another one of the assembly line produced Nicolas Cage movies. And I can't claim to say that this particular movie is outstanding from the numerous other movies that Nicolas Cage stars in. As such, then I am rating "Dying of the Light" a mere four out of ten stars.

Although visionary film maker Paul Schrader had this motion picture taken out of his hand by the producer and re-edited, his script and directorial creativity remains powerful and intact. Corrupted by director Brett Ratner at the behest of Lionsgate, it is certainly not the film Schrader wanted to make in its entirety but enough remains of his vision to satisfy those who appreciate his genius. Both Schrader and Cage have disowned this as released, yet Nicholas Cage gives one of his finest performances and that should be imperatively noted. One can see where Schrader's cinematic electricity still runs through the celluloid and where Ratner's clumsy amateurish efforts short circuit the project. It is indeed a shame for this had the potential to earn Oscar nominations all around if not for the egregious studio interference that destroyed what Schrader strived so artistically to achieve.