One of my favorite Nicolas Cage movies — nay, one of my favorite movies, period — is about to leave Netflix.
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" is a 2022 buddy action comedy starring Cage and "The Last of Us"/"The Mandalorian" star Pedro Pascal, and if I had an Oscar vote, it'd have gotten one from me for Best Picture. It's that good.
Unfortunately, it's leaving Netflix this week. You currently have less than 24 hours to watch it since it will be gone tomorrow (April 16).
Hopefully, you've already booted up the streaming service and hit play. But in case you need convincing, here's why you need to watch "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" before it leaves Netflix.
What is 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' about?
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" stars Nicolas Cage as ... well, Nicolas Cage. Or rather, a fictionalized version of the famous actor.
Unfortunately for "Nick" Cage, this version happens to be struggling. He's been passed over for several roles, his relationship with his ex-wife and daughter is poor and he's being tormented by "Nicky," a younger, more successful version of himself that lives in his head.
After losing another role, Nick decides to call it a career, but not before taking a $1 million offer to be the guest of honor at the birthday of Majorca playboy Javi Gutiérrez (Pascal).
Their relationship starts out rocky, with Javi begging Nick to turn a script Javi wrote into a movie. But once Nick realizes that Javi is a fellow cinephile like himself, he begins a fast friendship with the Spanish socialite.
'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent' is an incredible buddy comedy
While the above almost sounds more like a bromance comedy, trust me, the action kicks off not long after the sparks of friendship begin. That's because it turns out Javi is a suspected gun runner, and the CIA wants Nick to find out if Javi has kidnapped the daughter of a Catalan politician.
From there, the movie shifts into an insane buddy action comedy, with a nod or two to Cage's career.
If it's not handled perfectly, a movie like this easily becomes unbearable (no pun intended). With a parody of Nic Cage at its center, it has to toe the line between being self-deprecating and taking itself just a bit seriously.
Thankfully, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" toes the line perfectly, and the end result is a clever, fun, endlessly rewatchable action comedy. It also gives us an incredible debate between Cage and Pascal's Javi about their favorite movies, which I still find to be one of the best scenes in movie history and reason enough alone to watch this movie.
Stream "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" now on Netflix
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
Here's what he's been watching lately:
- I forgot how good 'The Last of Us' is — I'm happy this was only a one-episode season 2 premiere
- 'The Pitt' finale officially cements the Max medical drama as the best show of 2025 — and it has me excited for season 2
- 'The White Lotus' season 3 finale — deaths, recap, predicting season 4, cast reactions and more
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