Nicolas Cage has had one of the most varied careers in Hollywood, but it’s in the action movie genre that he’s had some of his most acclaimed and memorable roles. With three iconic releases in 1996 alone, including The Rock, Con Air, and Face/Off, Cage has made a name for himself as a non-stop worker who's always willing to embrace even the most outlandish of movie premises. From blockbuster smashes to later lesser-known straight-to-video releases, Cage has become a touchstone in modern popular culture and has achieved cult status among action movie lovers.

While some of Cage’s best movies were undisputed action classics, there were also some heartbreakingly low points in his long and bloated filmography. Whether he’s portraying a vengeful father, a man who has escaped from hell, or even a future-seeing action hero, Cage has consistently remained totally committed to his roles and brought his unique style and eccentricities to Hollywood’s film landscape. With releases that included truly terrible movies, so-bad-it’s-good films, or beloved classics, Cage’s action movie career has been an undeniable part of the actor's strange and enigmatic legacy.

20 Arsenal (2017)

Nicolas Cage as Eddie King

It boggles the mind why Nicolas Cage decided to reprise his role from the 1993 box office flop and critically reviled movie Deadfall for yet another lackluster film that bordered on offensive in its dullness. In Arsenal, Cage played the sleazy mobster Eddie King, a wig-wearing, mustache-clad, prosthetic-nosed caricature whose outrageous nature was a little too on the nose, even for lovers of Cage’s unique acting style. Arsenal was a painfully mediocre action movie about gangsters and kidnappings that was best avoided altogether.

19 211 (2018)

Nicolas Cage as Mike Chandler

As just one in a long line of forgettable Nicolas Cage action movies, 211 followed a police officer and teenager stuck in a bank during a violent shootout and was loosely based on the real 1997 North Hollywood shootout. As a disted mix of action movie tropes strung together by an uninspired plot, 211 was truly the bottom of the barrel regarding Cage’s many direct-to-video releases. With very little going for it, 211 was a generic heist movie that totally lacked the unique charm and originality of Cage’s greatest action offerings.

18 Rage (2014)

Nicolas Cage as Paul Maguire

Disappointedly, Rage never managed to quite meet the so-bad-its-good criteria of Nicolas Cage action movies and instead stood as a lackluster kidnapping story. With Cage as a former reformed criminal whose kidnapped daughter forces him to gather his old crew and resume his old habits again, this was a movie done ten times better in the countless Taken rip-offs out there. While this kind of violence-filled story of pure vengeance has been a franchise starting in the past, here it was just a forgettable retread of action movie cliches.

Rage was released under the title Tokarev in most of Europe and Australia.

17 Outcast (2014)

Nicolas Cage as Gallain

The American-Chinese-Candian co-production Outcast paired Nicolas Cage with Hayden Christensen for a universally panned period action movie set during the Crusades. Outcast was slated by critics, with Glenn Kenny of Rogerebert.com rightfully noting that it represented Cage moving out of his “entertainingly eccentric phase” and into his “genuinely befuddling and perhaps sad phase.” This was one best left for Cage-completionists only, as this tale of Chinese Emperors and mysterious warriors failed to connect with anybody and boasts an abysmal 4% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.

16 Grand Isle (2019)

Nicolas Cage as Walter

Grand Isle saw Nicolas Cage play a hard-drinking Vietnam veteran haunted by his past in a depressing story that saw a young man trying to prove his innocence against accusations of murdering Cage’s wife. With a slowly unfolding narrative of sad and sinister characters, Grand Isle contained glimpses of Cage’s unique talents as his dark characterization kept things interesting. Although there was enough intrigue in this neo-noir tale to make this one worth recommending to casual Cage fans, unfortunately, the weak script and structural issues of Grand Isle stop it from achieving greatness.

15 Primal (2019)

Nicolas Cage as Frank Walsh

Primal had the exact kind of over-the-top concept that makes a great Nicolas Cage action movie, although for how fun it was, it fell short of this honor and was more of a guilty pleasure in Cage’s filmography. With Cage as Frank Walsh, a big game hunter who caught a 400-pound white jaguar, all hell broke loose when the big cat was shipped on the same vehicle as a skilled assassin who sets the animal free. Like the beast, Primal was wild and unhinged but lacked the B-movie energy and urgency found in Cage’s best action offerings.

14 Vengeance: A Love Story (2017)

Nicolas Cage as John Dromoor

Vengeance: A Love Story, adapted from a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, tells the story of a policeman investigating the rape of a single mother who was forced to take the law into his own hands after the attackers were acquitted. While Vengeance had a disappointingly formulaic revenge movie structure, the incredible performance of Talitha Bateman as the daughter elevated this film into something more than the sum of its parts. Sadly, Cage never seemed to connect with his role fully and struggled with the film's slower pace, which, from a performance perspective, made it one of his weaker works.

13 Bangkok Dangerous (2008)

Nicolas Cage as Joe

Bangkok Dangerous was a remake of the Pang brothers' own 1999 Thai film that cast Nicolas Cage as a professional contract killer who was forced to violate his personal code for the good of those he loves. While it may not have a profoundly complex storyline, for those looking for solid action-movie fun and a long-haired Cage shooting his way through Bangkok, it more than delivered. Cage also acted as a producer on this American remake that walked the fun line between entertainment and pure ridiculousness.

12 Dog Eat Dog (2016)

Nicolas Cage as Troy

Dog Eat Dog was worth watching just to see two of the most interesting actors in Hollywood, Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe, sharing the screen together. From the acclaimed director Paul Schrader, Dog Eat Dog doesn’t quite live up to his best work, such as the screenplays for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, yet its thrilling story of three ex-cons holding a kidnapped baby for ransom remained engaging and witty throughout. With plenty of talented people involved, Dog Eat Dog had great chemistry, a farcical story, and a strong sense of humor.

11 Stolen (2012)

Nicolas Cage as Will Montgomery

It’s a tale as old as time; a former thief has 12 hours to track down $10 million dollars and save his daughter from imminent danger in Stolen. Although it bombed at the box office when it was first released, looking back on Stolen, it was a high-octane thriller that kept intensity going throughout in a classic race-against-the-clock style story. There’s nothing much deeper than that in Stolen, but everything came together incredibly well, and, in typical Cage fashion, he gave his all to a script that a lesser actor would have phoned in.