By Malice Intended

Nicholas Cage’s penchant for off beat roles and quirky performances has caused his reputation to take a beating.  This has not stopped him from developing a wide and varied resume over the years that includes blockbusters like the National Treasure series and dark character studies like Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.  It’s hard to say what drives a performer to make such choices, but that kind of fearlessness should be acknowledged if not celebrated.

In the upcoming Drive Angry, he plays Milton, a man who has broken out of Hell in order to prevent the murderous cult that killed his daughter from sacrificing his granddaughter.  It has all the hallmarks of classic car chase films and westerns, albeit with a somewhat darkly comic tilt.  William Fichtner plays Satan’s right hand man, “the accountant”, who has been dispatched to bring Milton back to Hell.

Aside from the presence of Cage, there is absolutely nothing about Drive Angry that would suggest it as an ”A-list” project.  It is directed by Patrick Lussier, who helmed the 3D remake of My Bloody Valentine.  It was written by Todd Farmer, who penned the aforementioned remake as well as Jason X (quite possibly the oddest entry in the Friday the13th franchise).  The films pedigree is made obvious by the visuals on display.  It looks like one of those B-movies that became a staple of late night pay cable channels and mom and pop video stores during the 80’s and 90’s.

It’s doubtful that Drive Angry will prompt Cage’s peers and detractors to reevaluate their opinions of him.  However, it has become clear over the last decade and change that Nick does not live and die by what “the industry” thinks of him.  After all, we are talking about a man who took his stage name from the Marvel Comics character Luke Cage.  That kind of fearlessness should be celebrated, not discouraged.

[pro-player width=’455′ height=’344′ type=’video’]http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810152301/video/22444680[/pro-player]

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