dennisgcarrier A largely boring script. Slow moving and slow developing. Melodramatic. Extremely dark. Most people will lament the time lost. And the thing with the ear was getting silly. Cage's character has a mangled ear from being cut with wire cutters while he was being tortured. But when he does undercover work in disguise his make-up guy is able to miraculously fix that with prosthetic make-up. Then he is able to change back. It's ridiculous. That ear would need plastic surgery to make it look that good. I just started laughing at that point. It makes you wonder what kind of lousy medical insurance CIA agents would have if they couldn't fix the agent's ear years after the incident. What, they let him leave the hospital like that? Somebody get a needle and thread, for Pete's sake.

adonis98-743-186503 Veteran CIA agent Evan Lake has been ordered to retire. But when his protégé uncovers evidence that Lake's nemesis, the terrorist Banir, has resurfaced, Lake goes rogue, embarking on a perilous, intercontinental mission to eliminate his sworn enemy. Nicholas Cage and Anton Yelchin in the same movie this should be fun right? Well not really or at least it's almost fun since Yelchin does most of the work here and he basically stole most of the show as for Cage he was alright but i was blown away from him mostly from his ear performance that should have been nominated for an Oscar but jokes aside this film was at least kinda enjoyable.

mokhatib (SPOILERS ALERT)Schrader is best remembered and known for helmeting classics the likes of Cat People and American Gigolo as well as scripting numerous famous movies, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, and Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead. Schrader's story revolves around America's tenacious fight against terrorism and in USA's dictionary Terrorism is only linked to Islam, but from a psychological angle portraying thepsychological damage the war has brought on Cage's character externally and internally and his obsession to nail and capture the terrorist, Mohamed Banir, who caused his ordeal. Both Lake's and the terrorist's illnesses play nicely into the story in heightening the dramatic suspense and tension as both race against time, one to get the bad guy, and the bad guy to get his medication. Facing another obstacle, Lake is forced to retirement after spending his last days working a desk job as a CIA intelligence analyst, and thus is compelled to go on his own by the aid of another CIA operative Milton (Yelchin). Milton's involvement gives the story a light of generational hope in the young, that somewhere out there there will always good fellows who are willing to fight the good cause for the right reasons and challenge all odds, and that is certainly reflected in Milton risking his job to help Lake. Schrader makes sure to incorporate some criticism against the CIA in his story, represented by Lake's grudge, accusing the CIA in letting go of the American values and caring for their own private benefits. I felt the premise was quite nice but rather weakly written especially towards the end when Lake faces Banir, it was not really clear what exactly was the point in making Lake's illness prevent him from killing Banir only to come back the next day to finish the job just because as Lake puts it: "it's my friend you shot back there", referring to Milton. So which is it? Was it the disease, his conscience, or both that made him up and leave the bad guy? Perhaps Schrader wanted to squeeze in another action scene before the final killing of Banir. I felt Lake's crave to kill Banir was all that was left of the American values, according to Lake, although the real value would have been in capturing Banir and not murdering him. So Lake's actions in the end are a mere mix of revenge and emotional justice, nothing more. so I guess violence adds another victim to its long list, the American value. Directorially, Schrader opted for a more documentary hand-held like style, playing the scenes out more realistically. Lake is by far Cage's most beautifully acted character so far in 2014. Anton Yelchin gives a great performance as well with his constrained wisdom and care for Lake and his cause.

tomco-19864 I've used this site for nearly 2 decades. Yet, this is the first time I have felt compelled to sign up or comment. Nicholas Cage's performances was.. Nicholas Cage. As expected. He did well.The movie? Thought provoking, and I thought the contrast of them both having diseases was intriguing. I thought the conclusion was interesting. Would have liked to see the bad guy killed by Cage, but I think it's due to the fact that he realized they were both gone anyway.What I find truly disgusting, is that this movie had poor reviews. I'm wondering if people's expectations of movies has gone to total crap. While I didn't find this the most awesome movie I've ever seen, I also surely didn't think it was a bad movie. I have often found that critic reviews are so harsh they can hardly be trusted at all. But, when viewers find a movie that has not at all shown that it is a lemon, call it a lemon, I'm really wondering what has happened to us.