The Trust

Nicolas Cage is both the butt of movie jokes and a respectable multirole meme, since he's played everything from cult films to shitty flicks (including ridiculous evangelist ones). Lately, he's been very good in stuff like "Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans" (2009) and "Joe" (2014) which was a great modern example of cinéma vérité. In this wonky production, his smarmy opportunist character is even likable, but unsuccessfully flanked by Wood's reluctant partner in crime; while the small-time heist scheme is enjoyable, the succession of events turns out as anti-climactic and disappointing, without much fun or any sort of accomplishment. There's a lack of a third party and a good female lead, besides a heavier dose of irony. The Jerry Lewis cameo was a random surprise, but good for him: I thought he was dead.

The Trust (2016)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Las Vegas police officer Stone (Nicolas Cage) stumbles across some strange paperwork, which leads him to look into a mysterious building. He soon starts to realize that there's some sort of vault inside and he talks another officer (Elijah Wood) into breaking in with him. Soon the two realize it's much bigger than they thought.

THE TRUST comes from directors Alex, Ben and Benjamin Brewer and for the most part it is an entertaining and somewhat captivating heist movie. That's not to say the film is perfect or even a good one but at the same time it's certainly worth watching as a Redbox rental or a free viewing like I did with Netflix. The film has some weak moments at the start and I'd argue some of the humor is flat but there's no question that the final forty-five minutes are very good.

As I said, the worst part of the movie was some of the strange and rather pointless black comedy at the start of the picture. At first I thought I was watching some sort of weak comedy because it was just rather annoying to say the least. Once you get to the heart of the movie, which is the actual heist, you look back at these early scenes and really have to wonder what the point of them were. Once the movie is over you've basically seen a good heist movie yet your brain remembers back to the start of the picture and it really doesn't make much sense.

I'd also say Wood's character changes throughout the film also didn't make much sense. I'm not going to go into spoilers but to say his character was a bit strange would be an understatement. With all of that said, there's no question that the final portion of this movie is very good. Once the two cops get their plan in motion we get a couple surprises along the way and I'd also argue that the drilling sequences were very well directed. Again, I'm not going to spoil how everything ends but there are some good twists that will remind you of the film noirs from the 1950s.

Both Cage and Wood are good in their roles and they certainly help keep you glued into the movie. Cage really stands out with a pretty laid back and entertaining performance, although there's one sequence where he goes ballistic like only he can. The supporting players are nice as well and we get a brief scene with Jerry Lewis. Yes, that Jerry Lewis. Technically speaking the music and cinematography are both very good and this helps THE TRUST as well.

I saw the trailer for 'The Trust' a few weeks ago and I thought it looked interesting since I'm a fan of Nicolas Cage. He had a lot of bad movies recently but also a few good under-looked movies (Joe, Frozen Ground, Drive Angry). It's fair to say that 'The Trust' is a good entry in Nicolas Cage's volatile filmography.

The ending might be the weak point of the film, maybe don't go in with too much expectations, but Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood were really surprising. They had a couple of funny moments together, and they were definitely carrying this movie.

I love a movie with a cool soundtrack, and I thought the directors (Alex & Benjamin Brewer) did a nice job setting the tone for this Las Vegas caper movie with great music and funny scenes. Elijah Wood is playing a stoner cop and I thought it was a good role for him. The acting was really on point the entire movie.

The Bobo scene was hilarious, and the whole 'heist' takes different twists and turns.

Even though the first hour is the best part and it falls short in the last 30 minutes, I recommend giving 'The Trust' a try if you like crime/comedy movies, or if you're a fan of Nicolas Cage.

7.5/10

Nicolas Cage is and always will be my favorite actor, his overall quirkiness and ability to play a complete different personality in every movie astounds me. In The Trust he is at his wackiest, this dark comedy thriller has him playing a deluded corrupt cop who has a plan to pull of a massive heist with his buddy cop played by Elijah Wood who has no idea of Cage's plan. Sounds like a great plot right? Despite this film getting below average reviews I still dived in and watched it, and I wasn't disappointed, this film managed to exceed the low expectations I went in with.

Surprisingly Cage and Wood had really good chemistry on screen together, the humor worked well when it was used and managed to get a few cheap laughs out of me. Cage has pumped out a lot of movies lately, most of which have been bad, but among the good ones that he has released such as 'Joe', this one I believe is up there with it. It managed to entertain right to the end.

The cinematography was pretty good, considering the budget was very low for the film. The acting was believable and had me engaged throughout the film. Whilst the film lost it's way in the last 20-30 minutes it still held it's self well as a solid B movie, with many different twists and turns thrown at the viewer it was very hard to predict how it was going to end.

The acting was on point for the entirety of the film with Cage and Elijah Wood both proving that they are still A grade actors. I believe that this one is another great entry into Cage's volatile filmography, it makes me happy to see that he still has faith in himself to bring out a good movie. If you are a fan of comedy/crime films, give this one a go!

I don't know why the idea of Nicholas Cage and Elijah Wood starring in a crime thriller together is funny to me, but it is. & for its first half, THE TRUST is funny. But what starts out as a silly neo-noir veers suddenly toward a darker realm as Cage's goofy Las Vegas police officer (echoes of his BAD LIEUTENANT role, but only echoes) reveals his cold-blooded determination to get at the contents of a secret vault at all costs, causing a rift to occur between him & Wood's softer character.

THE TRUST is a heist movie, & it's when the heist begins that the movie really starts to shine. It takes the heist in creative, unexpected & funny directions, & during these parts is an enjoyable & engrossing film. The film wraps up way too suddenly, & overall is quite forgettable, but for a good chunk in the middle it had a certain spark while these two ridiculous men dug themselves deeper into the hole they never wholly grasped they were getting themselves into in the first place. Cage is fun to watch, & though more restrained than usual, his wild energy crackles from him like static off a bedsheet. The dialogue & handling of situations is nicely offbeat, & the script remains ontrack the whole way.

THE TRUST is worth a watch if you like neo-noirs, heist movies, or Nick Cage doing his goofy thing. Or, like me, all of the above.