Nicolas Cage could do this movie in his sleep… so it’s rewarding when he doesn’t. Sympathy for the Devil is full-tilt, putting-in-the-overtime Cage. It’s rewarding when you rent a movie just hoping for something interesting and you get it. No, it’s not the deepest story but it works because Cage is working.

The flick stars Joel Kinnaman as an average dude who is surprised when a crazed Nicolas Cage gets into his car. Now on a road trip from hell, he has to figure out what Cage wants (if anything) and survive the night.

When they hired Nicolas Cage, were they surprised when he turned up on set with his hair dyed red… or was that in the script? Did they give him dialog about how a Boogerman came to him as a child or was he ad-libbing on the day? I’m genuinely curious if Cage Rage was meticulously planned or if the Hollywood Gods smiled on them.

Cage makes this movie hilarious. This is him in full on campy “I know you know what I’m doing and I’m gonna do it” mode. Unconventional shouty, weird accent, random thoughts shouted out randomly… I loved it. Watching him just stress relax in his patent pending high-on-life crazy is what I was hoping for.

Objectively, this is only an decent crime thriller. When the mania largely runs out in the third act, it becomes a more average film that it would have been without Cage. But at leas the suspense and action are reasonably decent on their own… I wasn’t bored.

Sympathy for the Devil is a fun ride and I laughed pretty hard. It’s a decent film on its own but gets an extra goose if you love your Nicolas Cage flying off the handle. If that’s not your bag and you don’t need a low budget indie crime thriller, then it’s probably not for you.

Score: 78