You had me at Nicolas Cage.
To be fair, when I first heard about this crazy film I imagined it might land more at the Ghost Rider end of the Nick Cage spectrum rather than being the five-star bolter of a meta-comedy that we now see before us, and what joy that brings me!
Anyone worried that The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent uses Cage to play Cage as the butt of all its jokes - fear not; this is self-deprecating Homme homage at its most entertaining, and - dare I say it, at its most heartwarming.
Here Cage as Cage is bankrupt, his Hollywood cache is fading and he is forced to take the big bucks to be the special guest at a superfan's birthday party.
Expecting to just smile and wave and take the money and run, instead he finds himself working for the CIA - his new friend Javi (Pedro Pascal) is not all he seems.
What is even more surprising, is a story written with love, embedded with bonding and friendship. The glue holding it all together, our love of the movies. And who can't relate to that?
This film is an absolute delight and as Javi so rightly says, a "gift... bringing light and joy to an increasingly dark and broken world".
Five stars
