Nicolas Cage isn't the most reliable actor when it comes to putting out good films. He was huge in the 90's, releasing blockbuster after blockbuster, but lately, he's fallen on hard times. While "Vengeance: A Love Story" couldn't be called a blockbuster, it is a very solid crime drama.
Cage is low key, but very effective, as the hero cop, out to avenge the rape of a single mom, which also led to her daughter being assaulted. He has pain behind his eyes. There's a rather good scene where the scum who attacked the single mom are let free, and we see Cage sitting on a bench in the court, tapping his hand, his teeth gritted. We know hell is coming for the offenders.
Talitha Bateman and Anna Hutchison, who play the daughter and mother victims, are excellent in their roles and really make the audience feel for them. They do such a good job, that we can't help but cheer when Cage blows the dirt bags away.
Bateman and Cage also share a rather touching scene in the closing moments of the film that elevates the pic above the standard DTV fodder Cage has been in of late.
If the film has any faults, it'd be the threadbare production values and some of the "let's shoot it quick and get outta here" camera work. But i was happy to let that go because I was so engrossed in the story.
Overall, "Vengeance: A Love Story" is one of Cage's better films and is definitely worth checking out if you're in the mood for a gritty revenge flick.
Cage is low key, but very effective, as the hero cop, out to avenge the rape of a single mom, which also led to her daughter being assaulted. He has pain behind his eyes. There's a rather good scene where the scum who attacked the single mom are let free, and we see Cage sitting on a bench in the court, tapping his hand, his teeth gritted. We know hell is coming for the offenders.
Talitha Bateman and Anna Hutchison, who play the daughter and mother victims, are excellent in their roles and really make the audience feel for them. They do such a good job, that we can't help but cheer when Cage blows the dirt bags away.
Bateman and Cage also share a rather touching scene in the closing moments of the film that elevates the pic above the standard DTV fodder Cage has been in of late.
If the film has any faults, it'd be the threadbare production values and some of the "let's shoot it quick and get outta here" camera work. But i was happy to let that go because I was so engrossed in the story.
Overall, "Vengeance: A Love Story" is one of Cage's better films and is definitely worth checking out if you're in the mood for a gritty revenge flick.