Let me start off by saying, I am not a big Paul Schrader fan. As a matter of fact, as far as I’m concerned, the work he churns out is almost always mediocre whenever he’s not working with Scorsese…
Nicolas Cage is… Nicolas Cage. The jokes have been done to death. There's no need to point and laugh at his career, especially when it is actually better than most would give him credit for. Cage isn't a bad actor, he is, rather, the Babe Ruth of actors. Unfortunately, the viewing public has taken note of his strikes more than home runs.
On top of these issues in the talent category, the advertising for this film has been horrendous. Every poster I've seen for Dog Eat Dog is, quite frankly, embarrassing. It looks like something that would, at best, go direct-to-DVD.
But this movie is good. It is one of the few genuine instances in which you truly cannot judge a book by it's cover. Dog Eat Dog is reminiscent of both Reservoir Dogs and Wild at Heart in unexpected ways. It has some balls to it, and more than anything else I appreciate that.
You won’t see anything else like it this year.
****/****
Publication: December 4th, 2016