Somewhere in this dullfest there was the kernel of a story worth telling, but the opportunity was squandered due to lazy writing and absurd character behavior.
The story structure goes something like this:
1/. Vanessa Hudgens is in danger
2/. Nicolas Cage finds her and gets her to safety
3/. Vanessa Hudgens decides to run away
Repeat steps 1 to 3 every 20 minutes or so.
In fact if it weren't for this structure the film could only have lasted half an hour because there wasn't really any other content in it. The runnings away were so ridiculous (she even managed to run away from Nicolas Cage's own house) that you had to wonder at the capability of the police to do ANYTHING! Surely they could have just booked her for prostitution and kept her safe in police custody until they had time to make a case.
This is the fourth in a row terrible John Cusack movie I have seen (The Raven, The Paperboy, The Factory, The Frozen Ground). What the hell happened? He seems to be turning into the new Michael Madsen. Pretty soon he'll be taking up residence in the 80s movie star retirement home at Nu Boyana Studios in Bulgaria. Bad show!
The story structure goes something like this:
1/. Vanessa Hudgens is in danger
2/. Nicolas Cage finds her and gets her to safety
3/. Vanessa Hudgens decides to run away
Repeat steps 1 to 3 every 20 minutes or so.
In fact if it weren't for this structure the film could only have lasted half an hour because there wasn't really any other content in it. The runnings away were so ridiculous (she even managed to run away from Nicolas Cage's own house) that you had to wonder at the capability of the police to do ANYTHING! Surely they could have just booked her for prostitution and kept her safe in police custody until they had time to make a case.
This is the fourth in a row terrible John Cusack movie I have seen (The Raven, The Paperboy, The Factory, The Frozen Ground). What the hell happened? He seems to be turning into the new Michael Madsen. Pretty soon he'll be taking up residence in the 80s movie star retirement home at Nu Boyana Studios in Bulgaria. Bad show!