Review: Nicolas Cage's Stolen disappoints

Director: Simon West
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Josh Lucas, Danny Huston, Malin Akerman and Sami Gayle



Its Fat Tuesday, Hallelujah! In case you’re not feeling the vibe or the bubble above your head says “WTF” it’s not your fault. Simon West’s Stolen is based in New Orleans, the place that hosts a carnival popularly known as Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday). The citizens take to the city streets in costumes and participate in a frenzy called a parade. This chaotic setting makes for the drama in West’s action-thriller. Irony is, New Orleans and Nicolas Cage (the leading man), are the only good things about this film.

The story deals with a heist specialist Will Montgomery (Cage) who’s basically Ocean’s Eleven rolled into one man. On a fateful robbery attempt his partner Vincent (Josh Lucas) gets trigger happy and Will tries to contain him. Vincent gets shot, Will gets caught, Vincent blames Will for all the misfortune and eight years later perpetrates revenge by kidnapping Will’s daughter. The concept is nothing new, but it does have all the trappings to let acting talent take control. Both Cage and Lucas give the film their best shot. For once Cage looks like he’s back with that Face-Off / Gone In Sixty Seconds like intensity. But sadly it never quite clicks.

The moment the action begins, when Cage is released from prison after eight years, Mark Isham’s background tune kicks in as well. It’s that ’80s style score that was found in action-adventure series like The A-Team and Magnum Pi. But as the film unfolds, you realise there’s a gross disconnect between the treatment and the actual content. Sure Will steals stuff like he’s Danny Ocean but this film tries too hard to be a cool, light-hearted film. At the times when Cage plays an edgy and desperate father trying to protect his daughter from a maniac, it feels like a completely different film. Like Taken without the gripping fights.

Not to say the film doesn’t have its moments. The cat and mouse game between Cage and the cops is fairly entertaining. So are Cage’s histrionics. But how can one take an FBI agent (Danny Huston) wearing a Fedora hat in 2012 seriously? You can say it’s New Orleans. But sadly, half the globe won’t get that reference. 

West’s film serves up some decent action and characters. But it never quite gets a grip on its story. It never quite grows beyond being a film that you’d rather watch on TV. Unless of course you think Malin Akerman is Aphrodite or Nicolas Cage is Hollywood’s Salman Khan.