Sympathy For The Devil

In every movie stars film career there might be one film, or a few films that they might not be so proud of. For example i know how Sylvester Stallone feel about his comedy Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot from 1992 that he actually regret making the film. I can understand why he doesn´t think this film was good and it´s definetely not one of his better films. But i can actually go back and watch this film pure out of 90´s comedy feelings and enjoy the film for what it is. Even action legend Arnold Schwarzenegger have said in public that he regret making Red Sonja, a film that i actually enjoy. It´s not a good film in any way, for example the acting is terrible and some of the action scenes are really cheesy but i would call this a guilty pleasure film that you can watch just for good laughs. One of the actors that comes to mind who have made some terrible films ( while made some really good films in his career as well ) is the actor known as Nicolas Cage. He himself doesn´t seem to regret the films he have done, except a scene in the 1988 horror comedy Vampire´s Kiss where he ate alive cockroaches. He regret doing that scene he have said in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment. Even though i am a fan of a lot of Nicolas Cage films he have also done some terrible low budget action films as well. But in my opinion his worst film is the evangelical drama film Left Behind from 2014. I have no idea why he even accepted being in this film but i would imagine that he needed the money. But a year earlier he actually released one of his best films in over 10 years ( yes since Matchstick Men, worth checking out ) and that was the independent drama film Joe from director David Gordon Green. Joe tells the story of 15-year- old difter Gary Jones ( Tye Sheridan ) who ask Joe Ransom ( Nicolas Cage ), a boss of a Texas tree-poisoning crew, for a job and impresses Joe. Gary bring his alcoholic father, Wade Jones ( Gary Poulter ) to work, but Wade´s poor attitude and laziness get them fired. Joe witnesses Wade beat Gary and takes his money. Gary later visits John´s house to get a second chance for a job and he give him another chance. Joe is a very well made drama film where you really see the reality of how rough real life can be, and just because you don´t have money doesn´t make you worth less than anyone. The performance of real life alcoholic Gary Poulter is outstanding, it´s such a shame he never got to continue his acting in other films because of the tragedy of his death. If you have not seen Joe you should pick it up on DVD. Even though i do not watch every film that Nicolas Cage release every year i try to check some of them out at least. One of them i did pick up on blu ray is a psychological thriller known as Sympathy For The Devil. Being a fan of Cage for over 35 years, is this thriller a worthy release of such an iconic actor or is this another horrible release that will dust in rental stores worldwide and no one will remember?

The Driver ( Joel Kinnaman ) is ready to go to the hospital to meet his pregnant wife who is ready to give birth to their child. While stopping at a parking lot an unknown man The Passenger ( Nicolas Cage ) gets into the car and demands that he drives away to wherever he wants to go. The Driver have no other choice but feel worried over his wife, while he tries to listen to The Passenger. This journey along the highway will change both of their lives.

Sympathy For The Devil is sort of a road thriller that takes place mostly inside a car or on the highway. The two main characters discuss different things along the way where clearly the kidnapper known as The Passenger ( of course played insane by legendary actor Nicolas Cage ) doesn´t seem to be fully aware of his mental problems. I do feel that this character is the strongest part of this film and what makes this film work, since Nicolas Cage knows exactly how to construct a character in his own unique way. You could say that The Passenger is the kind of man who seems to believe that he is in control, when it becomes very clear that he is the oppisite of that. He is that kind of criminal who probably never felt loved by anone and have to try and make people respect him, when in fact he doesn´t know anything else or how to behave in public. There is especially one dance scene inside a highway diner where Nicolas Cage does a brilliant dance, and this is where the real magic of the film finds the right tone. I wish they could have kept some of the atmosphere that we get inside the diner because that´s where Sympathy For The Devil feels more interesting than on the highway. Actor Joel Kinnaman is known for not being a very powerful actor, and i would probably say the same this time as the character The Driver. He is not bad in any way but when you are acting against a legend like Nicolas Cage it is not easy to reach his level of acting performance. But i will say this, in certain scenes we do get to see Joel shine with a tougher attitude. The action scenes are ok and the psychological thriller influences that this film have works especially towards the last 30 minutes of the film. So any issues that i have with Sympathy For The Devil? I feel that they should have stayed at the diner more and made the film there instead of the highway. This film might have been more interesting as a psychological thriller if they would have used this location more because a diner is actually a great choice for a story like this. Overall i would still say this is a thriller that does work for the most part but that is thanks to Nicolas Cage. Sympathy For The Devil is a film that will most likely be appreciated if you enjoy films such as the 1981 classic Roadgames. A thriller that does it´s job without leaving another bigger surprises.

Rating: DDD