I never have been a fan of Nicolas Cage. After the two part National Treasure debacle, I took a serious oath of self-preservation to never commit another two hours of my life to the surly gent’s films. However, Seeking Justice may just be one of few roles where Cage, demonstrates his abilities to perform as a serious (well…semi-serious) actor.

The film kicks off with Will Gerard (Cage) and his wife celebrating their anniversary. As openings go, it’s a tedious watch. You can expect people to stop chewing their cinema seats in boredom however when the plot is set into motion by the brutal rape of Will’s wife (January Jones) by an ex-convict. The distraught Will awaits news of her recovery from her injuries when he is approached by a stranger (Guy Pearse) named Simon in the hospital waiting room.

He offers Will a chance to have Simon “deal” with the man responsible for the rape if Will can commit to helping out Simon’s organisation with future issues. While this seems a little too convenient for my liking, it gives some serious suspense for the audience. 

Will reluctantly agrees, and the eager audience waits until six months later Simon’s favour needs to be repaid… The coupling of Cage with January Jones, who plays Gerard’s raped and distraught wife, was an interesting choice by director Ronald Donaldson, as both tend to fit into the stereotypical niches in their acting.

Cage, forever portrayed as the tough guy with guns blazing and a pissed off expression and Jones, seen in her Mad Men glory as the fragile and beautiful damsel in distress. However, this predictability works well for Seeking Justice as both stereotypes are used to full potential. However Cage’s evolution into this character starts with him as the quiet inner city school teacher.

Yes. Nicolas Cage as a school teacher, I was just as surprised as you, but it gives the audience to see a range from Cage’s usual types and provides a broad spectrum, if slightly unbelievable, development of the character of Will Gerard.

All in all, the film was above average. Worth the ticket charge but perhaps not the beverages that accompany it. The shoot 'em up action sequences and Nicolas Cage going, well, going truly Nicolas Cage on the bad guys are satisfyingly fast paced and give the audience exactly what they went into the movie looking for.

It holds the charm of classic action films gone by, and for that reason alone; it gets a half-hearted, undecided thumbs up. The lack of continuity does tend to throw a metaphorical spanner in the works; Nicolas Cage will never be the bookish teacher, or the intellectual nerd for that matter, in fact any scene where he isn’t running, shooting or wearing a bloodied tank top seems a little too out of his comfort zone.

But he’s good at what he does and for this we can forgive him the cost of a cinema ticket. Seeking Justice may just fall short for seeking approval. 7 stars

Seeking Justice is out on November 18th.


Niamh Murphy