I watched 81 Nicolas Cage movies to rank the actor’s top films — here’s where to stream his 16 best movies

16. ‘Lord of War’

Watch “Lord of War” on Peacock Premium

Cage plays a Ukrainian-born, NY-raised arms dealer, who profits from the sale of post-Cold War stockpiles to terrorists. Endorsed by Amnesty International, “Lord of War” is inspired by the lives of real-life arms smugglers, but the film is fictional. Still, it’s an important eye-opening movie that avoids heavy-handedness.

15. ‘Honeymoon in Vegas’

In this romantic comedy, Jack Singer (Cage) takes his longtime girlfriend Betsy Nolan (Sarah Jessica Parker) to Las Vegas to get married. Before they can tie the knot, Singer loses big at poker. To settle his debt, Nolan must spend the weekend with a high roller (James Caan). If you can get past the problematic premise and portrayals of Hawaiians, this is an entertaining romcom aided by a flamboyant Cage. But, some aspects of the movie haven’t aged well over the last 30 years. If you do watch it, keep your eyes peeled for a young Bruno Mars doing an Elvis impression.

14. ‘The Trust’

Watch “The Trust” on Pluto TV and Tubi free with ads

“The Trust” has not received the love it deserves. Cage and Elijah Wood play crooked Las Vegas cops, who are looking to rob drug dealers. The duo’s chemistry, along with Cage’s flashes of wildness, carry the film. It’s an interesting look at how greed can drive and destroy people. “The Trust” features the last role Jerry Lewis filmed before his death.

13. ‘The Rock’

Watch “The Rock” on Amazon Prime Video

In “The Rock,” Cage plays an FBI agent in the antiterrorism unit. He’s called in to help stop a former marine, who has taken people hostage at Alcatraz and is threatening to launch a biological weapon. The movie, directed by Michael Bay, is far-fetched, and I get bored during some of the action scenes. That said, the performances from Cage and Sean Connery are enough to keep me engaged.

12. ‘Mom and Dad’

Watch “Mom and Dad” on Starz or with the Starz add-on on Amazon Prime Video or Hulu

What if parents developed an inexplicable homicidal rage towards their own kids? This is the premise of the horror thriller “Mom and Dad.” Cage is the eponymous dad, unhinged for most of the movie and constantly sputtering hilarious lines. The simple plot is entertaining and absorbing, and the film tackles deeper themes, including losing your sense of self as you age.

11. ‘Peggy Sue Got Married’

Watch “Peggy Sue Got Married” on HBO Max and Hulu

Cage is the estranged husband of Peggy Sue (Kathleen Turner), who faints at a reunion and travels back in time 25 years to her high school days. This adds a level of hilarity to the film as the actors play the same role in both timelines, at ages 17 and 42. Cage has this weird nasally voice throughout that apparently annoyed Turner, but the director, Cage’s uncle Francis Ford Coppola, allowed it, thus adding to the film’s Cage Factor.

10. ‘Moonstruck’

Watch “Moonstruck” on HBO Max

Cher plays a widow named Loretta, who reluctantly agrees to marry Johnny (Donny Aiello). While Johnny is in Italy visiting his dying mother, Loretta is tasked with inviting Johnny’s estranged brother, Ronny (Cage), to the wedding. Ronny and Loretta fall in love. Cage doesn’t appear until 25 minutes into the movie, but he makes a dramatic impression when he does. “Moonstruck” was nominated for six Oscars.

9. ‘Color Out of Space’

Watch “Color Out of Space” with Shudder or AMC Plus add-ons on Amazon Prime Video

In this horror movie based on an H.P. Lovecraft story, Cage is the patriarch, flipping out regularly as his family slowly devolves into madness after a meteor lands in their yard. Though it’s far-fetched and confusing (i.e., Lovecraftian), “Color Out of Space” is beautifully shot, and the mystery keeps you engaged. Colin Stetson’s music is also a major asset.

8. ‘Vampire’s Kiss’

Rent “Vampire’s Kiss” on and Vudu for $4

“Vampire’s Kiss” is the movie by which all other Cage movies should be measured when it comes to The Cage Factor. The actor plays a literary agent who becomes a vampire and terrorizes his secretary, New York City, and himself. It’s an interesting psychological thriller, horror, and comedy all wrapped into one.

7. ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’

Now playing only in theaters (not currently available to stream)

Cage plays “Nick Cage,” an actor who is known for never turning down a part. As bills pile up, he agrees to attend a wealthy playboy’s (Pedro Pascal) birthday party for $1 million. Of course, nothing goes as planned. I had sky-high hopes for this movie, and though it didn’t quite meet them, the film is still an entertaining celebration of Cage. Much of the humor relies upon the absurdity of Cage being in various situations. The ending is also great, and I like the message of nurturing your child’s interests rather than forcing yours onto them.

6. ‘Matchstick Men’

Watch “Matchstick Men” on HBO Max

Cage plays a con artist who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. He discovers he has a teenage daughter (Alison Lohman) and tries to develop a relationship with her. Sam Rockwell turns in a great performance as Cage’s partner in crime. Overall, the movie is engaging and clever. The Cage Factor would be higher if his character wasn’t trying so hard to be less erratic throughout.

5. ‘Wild at Heart’

Buy the Blu-ray on Amazon for $18 (not currently available to stream)

Considering David Lynch is my favorite director and Nicolas Cage is my favorite actor, it’s no surprise that “Wild at Heart” is my favorite Cage movie. Cage plays Sailor Ripley, a snakeskin jacket-wearing Elvis wannabe, who just wants to live the American dream with his girlfriend Lula Fortune (Laura Dern). Unfortunately, Lula’s mom (Diane Ladd, Dern’s real-life mother) has other plans. Willem Dafoe and Crispin Glover also contribute brilliant performances to a brilliant, albeit very strange and violent film.

4. ‘Mandy’

Watch “Mandy” with Shudder or AMC+ Plus add-ons on Amazon Prime

“Mandy” is one of the many movies where Cage plays a character out for revenge. In this case, his wife (Andrea Riseborough) is abducted by a hippie cult. The story is enthralling, and it goes beyond the extreme violence of most action horror films — though there’s plenty of that too — to deliver an important message about the dangers of male fragility. The late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson does an outstanding job of scoring this visually stunning film.

3. ‘Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans’

Watch “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” on Peacock

“Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” is what happens when you pair one of the world’s most intense directors with one of its most intense actors. In Werner Herzog’s film, Cage plays a cop who injured his back in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He slowly descends into painkiller addiction and wild debauchery. At times, “Bad Lieutenant” is hard to watch with its depictions of abuse of power, but it’s worth the price of admission just to witness Herzog and Cage at their best.

2. ‘Pig’

Watch “Pig” on Hulu

Released in 2021, “Pig” features Cage in a quiet, brooding role. We meet his character living off-the-grid in Oregon with a truffle-hunting pig. One night, thieves break into his home, beat him, and take the pig. Covered with dried blood throughout the movie, Cage travels to Portland and confronts his past to find his missing animal friend. The film does a good job of exploring several themes, including friendship, what drives us, and how we relate to the food we eat. I cried during some scenes. It’s just a powerful film.

1. ‘Leaving Las Vegas’

Watch “Leaving Las Vegas” on Tubi and Pluto TV (free with ads)

Cage is an alcoholic screenwriter who loses his job and wife, so he drives to Las Vegas, where he plans to drink himself to death. While there, he befriends a sex worker (Elisabeth Shue), and they develop a powerful connection. This is a truly incredible yet disturbing film about two deeply flawed people finding each other. Cage won a well-deserved Oscar for his role.

Honorable mentions

Here are 10 Cage movies that didn’t quite meet the total score needed to make my list, but are still worth watching:

• “8mm” (Tubi with ads): This has a low Tomatameter rating (23%) and Cage Factor (3) and is incredibly disturbing, but the mystery sucks you in.
• “Adaptation” (HBO Max): This movie lacks Cage Factor (4) but it makes up for it by having Cage play two roles. He plays a version of the film’s actual screenwriter, Charlie Kaufman, and his fictional twin brother.
• “Army of One” (HBO Max): This film has the second-highest Cage Factor (9) of all the movies I watched, but its other scores kept it off the main list. It’s based on the true story of Gary Faulkner (Cage), an unemployed handyman who believes God (Russell Brand) wants him to go to Pakistan to kill Osama bin Laden.
• “Bringing out the Dead” ($4 to rent on Amazon Prime Video): My low Cage Factor score (4) kept this film off the main list, but it’s still a great movie. Cage plays an overworked EMT in NYC during the early ’90s. This is one of director Martin Scorsese’s most underappreciated works.
• “Deadfall” (Amazon Prime Video with MovieSphere add-on): Cage’s character in this pulpy, 0%-Tomatometer film is so flamboyant that he played the same role in a totally different movie (Arsenal) 24 years later.
• “Face/Off” ($4 to rent on Amazon Prime Video): Cage is great in this, the critics love it, but it just has too many plot holes for me to give it a high rating. Still, it’s worth seeing. Please don’t @ me.
• “Raising Arizona” ($4 to rent on Amazon Prime Video): When you put Cage in a Coen Brothers’ film, you’re going to get a masterpiece. That’s just what “Raising Arizona” is, yet Cage is just a little too subdued to score high on the Cage Factor (5).
• “Snake Eyes” (Showtime): Again, magic happens when Cage works with a great director. In this case, it’s Brian De Palma. Unfortunately, the Tomatometer got it wrong (40%).
• “The Wicker Man” ($3 to rent on YouTube): The critics also panned “The Wicker Man” (15%), a remake of a 1973 horror movie, but I find it engaging and love Cage’s performance.
• “Willy’s Wonderland” (Hulu): I don’t think Cage speaks at all in this 2021 horror action film, yet he gets most of the screen time. He plays a man who gets conned into cleaning up a cursed Chuck E. Cheese-like establishment. With a Cage Factor of 5, this one barely missed the cut.