Blu-Ray Review: Rage

By Brad Henderson

These days when we see Nicolas Cage’s name pop up in a title we all giggle. He is like that annoying uncle that we love. Personally, I still like Nicolas Cage but I dislike most of the films he is in these days. When I was younger I dug him quite a bit; Con-Air, Face/Off, Gone In 60 Seconds, and many more of his films from the ’80s and ’90s still remain some of my favorites.

At this point he basically participates in any films brought his way and he has these “Cage Rage” moments where he has the “breakdown.” For the past few years Cage does this “breakdown” just about in every film he is in and it is very comical. You guys know exactly what I’m talking about. It is s overacting at its “finest.” I’m not ragging on the Cage Rage and I actually look forward to it in his films. The truth is, I will watch anything he is in because I support the Cage Rage.

Recently the Cage Rage has brought us . . . Rage. I know, I cracked up about the title as well. I thought to myself, “There is a film called Rage that has Cage Rage.” That is complete bliss. Rage uses the same formula as Taken with a retired badass whose daughter is kidnapped and who uses his assets and skills to find her. I don’t think that plot line is extremely unique or anything but it was pretty damn close in many aspects to Taken.

Rage isn’t that bad but it is bland. However, the action sequences are pretty fantastic. There isn’t anything wrong with the film but the pacing doesn’t feel right and the reveal of what is happening comes way too soon. Also, the ending is a little wonky and it felt they were trying too hard by that point to get their audience back into the game.

Rage is one of those films that would probably do great with older audiences. I’m not talking about 80-year-olds but more or less those who are in the 40-60 range. I worked at Blockbuster for a good portion of my teens and this is exactly what that age group loves. They also don’t compare films to this like Taken and it probably won’t ever cross their mind.

I wish there was more to tell you about Rage but it literally has that one small plot device. There are a couple of twists and turns but they are more predictable than shocking. I have a tendency to say certain films are best saved for Netflix on a rainy Wednesday and that is where Rage belongs. And don’t worry: you get to see a spit-flying Cage Rage in this one.

Rage was released on Blu-Ray from Image Entertainment on August 12.