Kept glued as he settles scores
Unlike some of the other former Hollywood A-listers now stuck making cheap VOD genre pictures, Nicolas Cage can usually be counted on to bring some funky energy to routine roles. Without Cage, there’d be almost no reason to see the by-thenumbers revenge thriller “A Score to Settle.” With him, the movie isn’t just watchable, it’s occasionally riveting.
Written by John Newman and directed by Shawn Ku (who, to be fair, add a few grace notes of their own), “A Score to Settle” sees Cage playing Frankie Carver, who gets out of prison after doing a long stretch with two burning desires. First, he wants to make up for the mistakes he made with his family. Second, he wants to kill everyone who put him behind bars.
For much of the film’s first half, Frankie readjusts to the modern world with the help of his estranged son Joey (Noah Le Gros). Frankie has a pile of money stashed away, so he checks into a luxury suite and has fun learning about smartphones, catching up with Joey and spending time with a high-end prostitute (Karolina Wydra).
Once the story shifts more to the revenge, it loses steam, despite two big twists — one predictable, the other wild. The action sequences and the underworld characters are underdeveloped.
But Cage plays even the blandest pulp material with soul and gusto, as though the pathetic grudges of a petty criminal were the stuff of epic drama. His passion brings some color to an otherwise drab picture.
“A Score to Settle.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 43 minutes. Playing: Monica Film Center, Santa Monica; also on VOD.