Confession: I was a huge Nicolas Cage fan back in the 90’s and early 2000’s. “Face- Off”, “The Rock”, “Matchstick Men” and “Lord Of War” were among his best work. So what happened? “The Wicker Man”, “Ghost Rider”, “Season of the Witch”, “Stolen” and “Trespass” were just God-awful movies, we assumed that he’s only in it for the money now.That’s what we hear anyway and we might also assume that if he didn’t appear in these shitty movies, at least some of them would probably never get made. In “The Frozen Ground”, the potential is there. Nic gives a solid performance in a movie that never takes off, despite an intriguing premise based on the true case of serial killer Robert Hansen who, from 1971 to 1983, abducted, raped and murdered at least 17 young women in Alaska. That would be John Cusack like you’ve never seen him before. Now it’s up to Alaska state trooper Jack Halcombe (Cage), to bring Hansen to justice. I may be making “The Frozen Ground” sound like more fun than it is. But sadly, and like most of Cage’s movies these days, the script, acting (I’m talking to you Vanessa Hudgens), camera work and direction are a total bust. First time writer/director Scott Walker throws everything at the screen, but almost nothing sticks.

Rating: 2/4