While many of Cage's heroic roles haven't aged well, Joe gives us a very modern, immersive experience. It is gloomy and emotional, for those of us who don't naturally feel emotional over the events in films like Ghost Rider. I don't think I'll ever be able to watch Joe without feeling disturbed.
So I guess you get more bang for your buck with this one. It's not for everyone, and maybe not for watching more than once. Maybe this is the kind of film all those edgy, 90s directors wanted to make, but couldn't. Instead they kept themselves from going too far. Though I guess the makers of Joe intended to go as far as possible.
However, they knew what it takes to make a good film. Even the worst of lives have their best days. And it is the best of films that remind us of how those good times felt. In addition to the talents of Cage, we get star performances all around, bringing the villains and the demons all too close to our own realities.
Despite Joe's goodness, I can only dish out so much love to the format of a hero story. Amid Joe's challenges along the arch of his story, none of the characters go through any satisfying, internal changes, leaving us with a lack of dimension. But gosh, I'm probably expecting too much.
- Raising Arizona
- Leaving Las Vegas
- Red Rock West
- Adaptation
- Birdy
- Wild at Heart
- Joe
- Dog Eat Dog
- Color Out of Space
- Mom and Dad
- Peggy Sue Got Married
- Zandalee
- City of Angels
- Bangkok Dangerous
- Drive Angry
- Lord of War
- Gone in 60 Seconds
- Matchstick Men
- Vampire's Kiss
- Con Air
- Face/Off
- Honeymoon in Vegas
- Amos and Andrew
- Moonstruck
- The Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Bringing Out the Dead
- The Family Man
- It Could Happen to You
- 8mm
- Ghost Rider
- The Humanity Bureau
- Next
- The Weather Man
- 211
- The Croods
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