Nicolas Cage now sits in three different categories for people. In the first category, you have people who will strictly stick to his early career or rather, his dramatic side. Movies like Leaving Las Vegas, City of Angels, and Family Man would be placed within this category. Cage is a terrific dramatic actor and this was my introduction to him. There’s a lot of my generation who probably know him best from the National Treasure movies. My introduction was actually City of Angels. I had a weird obsession with the Goo Goo Dolls at the time and my love for them led me to that particular movie. For the second category, you have Nic Cage the action star. Movies like Gone in 60 Seconds, the aforementioned National Treasure, and Con Air.
Thanks in part to his weird relationship with the IRS, we now have a third category. This is what I will refer to as Nic Cage 2.0. This is the stage in his career where he did a plethora of straight to video movies. Somehow in the midst of that, a new man was born for the rumble of the former two categories. This is the sweet spot for why I love Nicolas Cage as an actor. I love the diversity that he manages to bring to these movies. You also never truly know what you’re getting yourself into as a viewer. Whether it’s something bloody and bizarre like Mandy, unhinged like Grand Isle, or something a bit more traditional like U.S.S. Indianapolis: Men of Courage. It’s always a wonderful surprise.
The idea of Nicolas Cage fighting aliens through Jiu Jitsu; sounds like a fascinating premise, right? His latest venture in Jiu Jitsu actually sees a young man named Jake, played by Alain Moussi, awakens with amnesia only to discover he is the “chosen” one. Viewers are taken on a journey to unravel the mystery surrounding Jake, his friends, Cage, and his calling. Nicolas Cage will probably be the selling point for many individuals for this movie. When you google the movie, his name is riddled all over the press. IMDb features him prominently on their page for the movie and he’s top-billed. Not to ruin expectations, but Cage is barely in this movie: possibly for a grand total of maybe 25 minutes out of its total 102-minute runtime. Cage is hands down the standout of the movie - by a long shot.
If you’re coming to this movie in hopes of seeing Cage fight aliens, you’ve come to the wrong place. Jiu Jitsu feels more like an amateur remake of Predator that didn’t feel like paying the royalties; so they changed just enough. JIu Jitsu is a baffling mess that attempts to sell itself as a movie. From the opening frames of its comic book panel monologue, viewers are thrust into a cheaply-made world of bad CGI. I wish I could say this is the only bad thing in this movie but it’s not, not by a long shot. When you have a leading man who has a majority of his background in stunts, you should know that he might not be leading man material. Not shockingly, Moussi is an atrocious actor with a script that makes The Room look like The Godfather. The character motivations, decisions, and lack of development are among the issues riddling this script.
Surely the saving grace of this movie will be its Jiu Jitsu fighting, since the movie is named after it, right? Nope. During its 102 minute duration there are a handful of sequences with decent fight choreography. Spoiler alert: half of them feature Nicolas Cage. The rest of the time we are left with choreography that feels more inspired by video games than the fighting style the movie is named after. A movie which bases itself around a respectable Martial Arts style seems like it could be a decent idea. That decent idea is gonna need some resemblance of decent acting; not merely a table read. Not one performance, with the exception of Cage, feels like they have direction or any training. Performances are either wooden or overacted.
Overall, JIu Jitsu is a cinematic abomination. Nearly everything about this movie hits on the awful scale. Whether it’s the acting, the fight choreography, the CGI, the writing or a number of other issues wrong here - this movie is shameful in every way. Nicolas Cage, for as little as he is in the movie, is the saving grace. Cage provides a much needed fun energy that the film desperately needs. Jiu Jitsu is bad in just about every way you think a movie could be awful.
RORSCHACH RATING:
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Victims and Villains is written Josh "Captain Nostalgia" Burkey (and produced by) and more. Music by Mallory Johnson and others. Jiu Jitsu is property of The Highland Group. We do not own nor claim any rights. Jiu Jitsu opens in select theaters and is available on VOD and digital beginning November 20th, 2020.
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