Review of Dying of the Light (2014) by Quincytheodore — 15 Apr 2015
A sick man chasing another sick man, it is as depressingly bad as it sounds, and even worse to witnes . It's a gambit to cast Nicolas Cage movies these days, he might perform well and there's a spark of his former glory, but eventually his performance is either lackluster or overly theatrical. Dying of the Light is no better, this is a severely tedious journey to watch despite the occasional good views. Its intended message of patriotism is buried underneath weak script, missed chemistry and overwhelming lack of thrill for a crime drama.
Evan Lake (Nicolas Cage) is a veteran agent of CIA, he is still vexed by the escape of one terrorist who tortured him decades ago. Believing that the terrorist still lives Lake pursues him before his brain disease incapacitates him further. This is a unique premise, both protagonist and antagonist have debilitating diseases. Lake even uses medical record to track down his prey, so the film wants to depict both sides with a strange common trait of frailty.
Sadly, the acting is inconsistent. At a couple of sequences Cage might seem emotionally spot-on as the disease hampers him, though most of the time he reverts back to maniacal laughs and screams. Anton Yelchin as Milton Schultz is supposed to be Lake's prodigy. The mentor and student relationship feels inauthentic, even though both actors show potential commitment. Script has a very harsh political undertone which may put some viewers off. The overall process is just an exhausting ordeal to watch.
The film moves back and forth from United States and a few exotic locations. Cinematography isn't bad, though it does seem underutilized. It awkwardly pans through a few slow scenes as the actually chase , filled with medical and espionage jargons, is highly uninteresting. If one is looking for action here, it's safe to say that the film offers so little, practically only a couple of scenes of bare bone action and these aren't even that well made.
Dying of the Light is an uninteresting thriller, there's no satisfying conclusion and the effort to make it there is awfully dull.
This review of Dying of the Light (2014) was written by Quincytheodore on 15 Apr 2015.
Dying of the Light has generally received negative reviews.
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