Dying of the Light - Have you ever seen a spy film?

If the answer is ‘yes’ then you might as well not read this review and not bother watching ‘Dying of the Light.’ Don’t get me wrong – it’s not bad.  It’s one and only problem is that it’s so unoriginal that if you’ve even seen one spy thriller then you’ve basically seen this story (and quite possibly done better).

Of course this one has Nicholas Cage in.  This is largely the only reason I chose to watch it.  As a fan of Nic’s in the nineties (back when he actually made good movies) I’ve religiously given every film he’s done since a try, just on the off-chance he’s somehow been able to recapture that ‘Leaving Las Vegas/The Rock’ spirit (and, yes, I even watched the remake of ‘The Wicker Man’).  He plays a former CIA agent who uncovers a plot to... I don’t know – stop bad-guys.  Same old.  Then he has to prove it, shout at his superiors and generally avoid being double crossed by his own side.

If you enjoyed the ‘Bourne’ films then you’re probably used to watching a spy thriller with a budget.  Dying of the Light doesn’t have one.  It’s basically a straight-to-DVD film without much action in it at all.  And it could probably do with a few more fights and car chases to liven it up a bit.

It’s a ‘slow burner.’ Possibly too slow for its own good.  Basically, if you’ve never seen a spy film before and are generally a fan of Nicholas Cage then you might get something out of it, otherwise you should remember him how he was and put this one in the same bracket as Season of the Witch.

Now move along... nothing to see here.

4/10 You can watch this film while you're doing the ironing (you'll still get the general gist of it)