Sympathy for the Devil

                There are few actors out there who do crazy like Nicolas Cage. For me, I like to compare him to a race car, sure, he can cruise and deliver an Oscar -worthy performance, but when he gets into fifth gear, I mean watch out. That is the great thing about Cage, he can really move in every gear, but it’s that final one that us Nic Cage fans love the most. Needless to say, after seeing the trailer for Sympathy for the Devil, excitement started to build because from what I saw, Cage was once again about to kick into high gear.

On just another night in Las Vegas, a driver( Joel Kinnaman) is on his way to drop his son off so that he can get to the hospital as his wife is about to give birth. Everything points to this being a momentous night, all he needs to do is park his car and get up to his wife’s room. Fate, though has a different plan as a passenger (Nicolas Cage) climbs into the backseat and points a gun at him, telling him to start driving. After failing to argue his case on how he needs to be with his wife, The Driver follows the man with the gun and starts to hit the road. At first,the conversation is small, just simple directions on where to go, despite the driver trying to get more info. Soon, it becomes apparent that The Passenger seems to think that The Driver is someone he is looking for and tells him that he is delivering him to someone. The drive though, is not going to be smooth, and soon things get bumpy and a whole lot more fun for the audience.

Written by Luke Paradise, Sympathy for the Devil starts off slow, but as it goes downhill, really picks up momentum. As a viewer, we have seen this Cage before, and we know what he is up to. Sporting bright red hair and a red velvet jacket, it is easy to presume that, with that look and his attitude, Cage’s character is the devil of the title. That assumption is reenforced at every opportunity by director Yuval Adler. I mean this version of Cage is not a guy you would take home to your mother. Most of the movie takes places in a car, with Cage keeping the dialogue flowing as Kinnaman’s character just sweats and twitches as the story boils over to its exploding point.

Sympathy for the Devil has an entertaining amount of crazy while delivering a good thriller. There are plenty of twist and turns here, but the real driver of this movie is the two leads, as both Cage and Kinnaman bring the personality that the film needs. Cage is always willing to get just the right amount of nuts, which for this performance include a great sing-along to “ I Love the Nightlife”, as well as a hilarious Edward G. Robinson impersonation. Sympathy for the Devil needed that crazy and makes this a must-watch for every Cage fan and even those few who are not. Ultimately, this is a ride worth taking, just make sure you fasten your seat belt, because Cage is going to make this wild ride ever wilder.