Meta Nicolas Cage film about Nicolas Cage achieves impressive feat following first screening

Forthcoming release has been hailed ‘one of the funniest movies of the year’

Nicolas Cage’s new film, in which he plays himself, has achieved an impressive feat following its premiere at SWSW festival in Austin, Texas.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent follows a fictionalised Cage who accepts a $1m offer to attend the birthday of a superfan (Pedro Pascal), who also happens to be a Mexican drug cartel member.

When things take a wild turn, Cage is forced to become a version of some of his most iconic and beloved characters in order to extricate his wife and daughter from Pascal’s character.

Since the premiere, critics have been unanimous in their praise of the film. After 14 reviews, it has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 100 per cent.

IndieWire writer Jude Dry hailed the film as “one of the funniest movies of the year”,

Meanwhile, Variety's Owen Gleiberman said: “It’s a commercial comedy that has a delirious good time poking fun at Nicolas Cage, celebrating everything that makes him Nicolas Cage.”

Bloody Disgusting writer Meagan Navarro calls it “a raucous journey that’ll leave you with a grin plastered on your face”.

Nicolas Cage in ‘The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’ (Lionsgate Films)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent will be released on 22 April.