The Retirement Plan (2023)
Director: Tim Brown
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ashley Greene, Thalia Campbell
Synopsis:
A woman whose husband is in trouble with his gangster boss sends their daughter to her estranged father in the Caymans.
Impressions:
Nicolas Cage had so much fun with Ron Perlman making Season of the Witch that he invited him on for this movie so they could enjoy a vacation in the Caymans. Well, that's sweet, but Adam Sandler also has a habit of making movies as an excuse to give vacations to his friends, so what about the final product? This is a fairly decent action flick about an out-of-action operator proving to be more than some common thugs are expecting, and there's a bit of black comedy sadism to Cage's character that gives the film a bit of a bump for me. We even get Ernie Hudson as Cage's friend, and while Hudson is looking rather good for his age, his ladder-climbing skills are more of a match (which I bring up because it's actually plot-relevant). I normally like Jackie Earle Haley, but I didn't enjoy his role as the main villain here. I feel like the writing came up short for his character. Ron Perlman, however, is pretty good as the somewhat conflicted heavy who develops a faint touch of Lima Syndrome. There are some higher-level plots and plans behind the scenes that may or may not add to the story depending on your perspective (I don't think they added much beyond making the plot seem bigger than it needed to be). If you're a big Nic Cage fan, I'd say give it a watch, but for more general audiences, I'd say take it or leave it. (The big Nic Cage rating can be found below because, well, this reviewer happens to be a big Nic Cage fan.)
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