Nicolas Cage is a national treasure, isn’t he? Since his debut in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Cage has seen numerous career highs and lows. From starring in critical and commercial darlings to some of the worst movies of their time, Cage has become a cultural icon of sorts. His intensity, strange delivery, and commitment to his roles have made him beloved by many cinephiles. In fact, some people, like me, may see a movie solely if Nic Cage is in it, even if it’s awful!
Because of this, trying to create a ranking of the definitive Nic Cage movies is tricky. There was a period of time where Cage starred in critical duds, but his performance was never the dealbreaker for the film. Therefore, does the movie have to be good for it to appear on this list? I personally don’t think so, so this list will be ranked based on the overall quality of his performance. That way, there’s a fair spread of Cage’s acting abilities, whether it be his serious dramatic character pieces or his manic scenery-chewing action spectacles. So, if you’re interested in unwinding with a solid Nic Cage movie on platforms like Prime Video or Kanopy, here are the 10 best Nicolas Cage movies, ranked on the quality of his performance.
10. The Wicker Man (2006)
Let me be clear when I say that The Wicker Man is a terrible movie. As a remake of the genuinely chilling 1973 horror movie of the same name, this film is the kind of horror sludge that littered theaters in the mid-2000s. It scratches the same itch that Silent Hill does with a dash of Midsommar, but the film’s biggest sin is that it isn’t scary at all.
In reality, The Wicker Man is one of the best unintentional comedies of all time, and Cage is to thank for that. He plays Officer Malus, a police officer who visits an isolated island of pagans to find his ex-fiancée’s missing daughter. While everyone else plays their roles fairly seriously and with somber reverence that what they’re doing is saying something deep and meaningful, Cage treats this like a B-movie. He’s not quite as cartoonishly over-the-top as he was in Vampire’s Kiss, but his eccentricities help make The Wicker Man a must-watch movie for fans of bad movies. Get a group together, order some take-out, and get ready for 102 minutes of hilarious comedy.
9. Longlegs (2024)
While Cage has played plenty of eccentric characters, none of them are quite as terrifying as his portrayal of the Longlegs Killer in Longlegs. Osgood Perkins’ homage to horror movies like The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en is undeniably dark, but one of the biggest reasons for that is Cage’s performance.
Despite only being present in a few scenes, Cage completely transforms himself into an unsettling and borderline supernatural villain. You’re never quite sure what he’s going to do next when he’s on screen. He could start singing, or he could bash his head violently against a table. Both are equally viable. While The Wicker Man fails as a horror movie, Longlegs succeeds, because the film is actually scary. Much like Hereditary, the tension is palpable throughout its hour and 41-minute runtime. Longlegs is perfect for those searching for a film positively imbued with dread.
8. Willy’s Wonderland (2021)
While Cage has starred in plenty of movies outside of the horror genre, arguably, his most entertaining performances can all be found in horror movies. Case in point: Willy’s Wonderland. It doesn’t take much to realize that Willy’s Wonderland is directly inspired by Five Nights at Freddy's, but instead of presenting the movie as a typical slasher, it’s done by way of a Grindhouse movie. That means plenty of violence, blood, screaming, and alcohol. Without saying a single word, Cage understands that.
He plays a nameless drifter hired to clean a restaurant filled with cannibalistic animatronics, delivering a rage-fueled performance that feels like Cage’s performance in Ghost Rider crossed-over with Walter from The Big Lebowski. The film loses a bit of its appeal once the other non-animatronic characters show up, but Willy’s Wonderland understands that audiences want to see Cage at his most violent, and if you’re one of those people, then this film is for you.
7. Pig (2021)
Cage is an actor known for his extravagance, but that unfortunately results in some of his more subtle performances being overlooked. Pig is a movie caked in sadness, where we follow a disheveled and rustic Cage hunting for his lost truffle pig.
If this sounds like the kind of revenge-based Cage action-fest that made Willy’s Wonderland and Face/Off so enjoyable, then you’ll be in for a rude awakening. Pig is a dour film. It’s a movie about loss, regret, and how to move on from tragedy. In a lot of ways, Pig is similar to Okja, not only because of the obvious animal connections, but because both films depict the importance of relationships and how meaningful they can be to us. Pig is a deeply empathetic movie thanks to Cage’s delivery. He rarely yells, and he’s quite direct, cutting to the heart of every conversation with acuity and precision. If you want to see an understated Nic Cage without any of his usual trappings, then you owe it to yourself to watch Pig.
6. Color Out of Space (2019)
Cosmic horror is one of the most underappreciated subgenres of horror. The genre’s focus on the unknown and how terrifying it can be is an excellent source of dread, with one of the best examples of this phenomenon being Color Out of Space. At first, the film is relatively straightforward. We follow a family on a farm as a meteorite crashes into their well, and we see them slowly succumb to the strange changes taking place in and around them.
Here, Cage plays the family’s father, and his performance is a perfect microcosm of what makes him such an undeniable presence. If you like Cage at his most comically excessive, there’s something here for you. However, if you like the dramatic moments of Leaving Las Vegas, you’ll find something to like about Color Out of Space, too. And if you like the dry, blasé dialogue of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, you’ll also appreciate the slower scenes where Cage’s character tries to justify uprooting his entire family to a farm in the middle of nowhere. Add in some of the best practical effects that deserve to be appreciated on the same level as The Thing, and you have a movie that takes a Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none approach to showcasing Cage’s acting abilities.
5. Adaptation (2002)
Adaptation is a wild ride, and that’s almost entirely to do with the screenwriter and subject of the film, Charlie Kaufman. The movie is an embellished, fictionalized version of his life, and he, along with director Spike Jonze, decided to tap Nic Cage to play twin brothers Charlie and Donald Kaufman.
If you were impressed with how Michael B. Jordan acted opposite himself in Sinners, then Adaptation will deliver an equally enthralling experience. Cage manages to make the reclusive and meek Charlie feel wholly distinct from the extroverted and brash Donald, and the scenes where both brothers are present on screen are a delight. Kaufman writes himself with just enough self-deprecation that Cage manages to have a lot of fun with the role. Both brothers have substantial and meaningful character arcs, which is great for an actor who fully commits to his roles like Cage does. You never quite know where Adaptation will go next, so if you want a smartly-written black comedy, seek it out.
4. Mandy (2018)
It’s rare to see a movie perfectly capture a time period, but Mandy is the perfect modern-70s film. The colors, the costuming, and the psychedelic imagery all feel ripped out from a bygone era, made all the better by one of Cage’s best performances.
Like some of the best Nic Cage movies, the plot centers on Cage’s thirst for vengeance following his encounter with a strange cult, which includes an absolutely thrilling chainsaw duel. That alone merits placement, but Mandy’s secret sauce is its ethereal quality. If you’ve ever seen a David Lynch film and have been looking for a movie that captures that same essence of surreality, Mandy will be your next obsession. It’s Natural Born Killers by way of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, delivering some thrilling action with one of the most gut–wrenching Cage performances of all time. It’s a great showcase of his range, like Color Out of Space, but it more effectively showcases his talents when he’s allowed to completely let loose, making it a memorable two-hour drug trip.
3. Raising Arizona (1987)
What happens when you combine Nic Cage with the Coen Brothers? You get one of the strangest comedies of its time, dripping with charm and that classic Coen Brothers wit. A farce in every definition of the word, what makes Raising Arizona such a great Nic Cage movie is how the Coens find a way to undermine Cage’s larger-than-life persona. He still has plenty of the strange personality traits you would come to expect from him that are performed marvelously, but he’s hardly the weirdest thing about the film.
Some moments are just so ludicrous that they make Cage come across like the straight man reacting to the madness around him. Raising Arizona is what you get when you cross the dry humor of O Brother, Where Art Thou? with the nonsensical delivery of a Looney Tunes cartoon. It’s also a remarkably short film, running at just over an hour and a half, making it a perfect choice for those who want a quick dose of manic chaos.
2. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
In recent decades, Cage has become a punchline. While he’s a wonderful actor, many fans of his tend to gravitate toward the films that spotlight “Cage Rage,” aka moments where Cage cuts loose. But people forget that this man is an Oscar-winning actor, thanks to his performance in Leaving Las Vegas.
Cage is no stranger to character dramas, but his depiction of the desperate and suicidal Ben Sanderson is just heartbreaking. There have been emotionally gripping Cage performances before, like in Pig, but the humanity Cage exudes as he’s drinking himself to death in Las Vegas tops even that. Special mention also needs to be given to Elisabeth Shue, who, along with Cage, delivers one of the most effective yet depressing love stories in ages. The misery the characters go through is reminiscent of Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream, and those looking for a good feel-sad movie starring Nicolas Cage will find that and more in Leaving Las Vegas.
1. Face/Off (1997)
Like Mandy, Face/Off is a monument to a specific time period and era of Hollywood history. While Mandy obsesses over the 1970s, Face/Off is, in a lot of ways, the perfect ‘90s action movie. It’s loud, melodramatic, and gloriously unrestrained.
This is almost entirely due to Cage’s performance as the international terrorist, Castor Troy. Cage is having the time of his life playing Troy, delivering a villain that’s in every bit as cartoonish as the Longlegs Killer was unsettling. What’s even better is that, given ludicrous plot contrivances that are delightfully stupid, Cage’s co-star John Travolta begins to act like Cage, meaning we get, effectively, two Nic Cage performances. Outside of Cage’s sumptuous performance, Face/Off is just an infinitely entertaining action movie, no doubt due to John Woo’s involvement as director. Those who love ‘90s action movies like Total Recall, Die Hard With a Vengeance, or even Cage’s own Con Air will love the explosions, martial arts, and chase scenes that make Face/Off not only one of the best ‘90s action movies around, but Nic Cage’s best film.
