We’ve spoken of the talent that is Nicolas Cage on these pages with some regularity. In part because he is such an incredible talent to watch, and also due to his frighteningly high work rate, churning out film after film.

With such a high rate, quality does invariably suffer, but, more often than not, even a bad Nic Cage film is worth watching. Except Willy's Wonderland, which is a woeful mess definitely worth avoiding at all costs.

This latest feature, is, as you would expect, something different as most of his films are, featuring as it does Nic Cage playing...Nic Cage.

Looking for the next big film to star in is acting legend Nicolas Cage (Cage). He’s anxious that his star power is on the wane, and is looking for a project to put him back on top, and he think he’s found it. Unfortunately, the director thinks differently.

His agent (Neil Patrick Harris) does have a gig for him however, albeit an unusual one. A superfan by the name of Javi (Pedro Pascal) is willing to pay Cage $1 million dollars simply to hang out with him in his luxurious villa in Majorca on his birthday. And after his next big job falls through, he decides to go.

Cage soon discovers that Javi has an alternative motive for bringing him there, and that’s to read the script he’s written for him. Cage does him the service of reading it, then turns it down. What he proposes however, is that the pair write a script together, which Javi accepts with glee.

It just so happens that Cage also has an alternative motive for being there, given Intel by the US government that Javi is not who says he is, and recommending that Cage spy on him – which is a role that Cage can definitely get behind, despite the high risks involved.

As you would expect from the curious premise, this is the type of film that only Cage could pull off. Obviously it would be a struggle finding someone else play him – although the results could no doubt be entertaining enough – but Cage, unsurprisingly, is the perfect choice to play a version of himself. Clearly.

And boy does he have some fun doing so, often at his own expense. He leans on the vulnerability that many actors must face, concerned about their self worth and where the next project comes from. It wouldn’t be a surprise if this was the case with Cage himself to some degree; he either doesn’t seem that concerned with big budget films anymore, choosing quirky indie titles, or Hollywood has simply given up having him star in their big-budget films. Perhaps the truth lays somewhere in-between, but either way Cage seems fairly happy with his lot, both on screen here and off.

In that sense, director Tom Gormican’ s film is magnificently meta, not only having Cage play a version of himself, but also offering to dip in and out of his career throughout. And if that wasn’t enough, he even throws another Cage into the mix, a younger version of himself, who only Cage can see. The pair are at odds with them self, with the younger version being quite aggressive in his opinions as to what his older self should be doing.

On top of all this chaos, there’s a silly crime theme thrown into the mix, with more than a whiff of a classic buddy flick about it. Pascal and Cage are a terrific double act, which makes for a highly amusing dynamic.

Yes, at times the premise outweighs the story, which outstays its welcome by 20 minutes or so, but with Cage having so much fun not taking himself seriously, it’s easy to forgive.

A truly original film that also happens to be one of the most entertainingly bearable Nic Cage films in years.