The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

At turns amusing, bemusing, exciting, and heartwarming, this film ultimately earns the simple and perhaps most important characterization a film can receive: entertaining. The clever conception of the movie’s recursive plot and structure makes it something of a puzzle to be put together by the viewer, though not one that ever reaches the status of too difficult or overly frustrating. The greatest wonder here may be Nicolas Cage's self-deprecating self-awareness; he not afraid to make himself look foolish while celebrating himself at the same time. One curious aspect of this work is the fact that it relies upon—with no small amount of justification—the idea that pretty much everyone understands the mechanics of Hollywood filmmaking; we’re all immediately in on the joke. Unique and enjoyable, this flick can hardly be called unbearable, whatever level of talent it may truly display.