104. Southern Fury; movie review

SOUTHERN FURY
Cert 18
95 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence

Why does Nicolas Cage keep agreeing to play roles which make him look more and more ridiculous?
He has made his name for portraying crazed characters but the psychopathic crime lord in Steven C. Miller's Southern Fury could be the most bonkers of the lot..
Compete with ludicrous wig, fake moustache and false nose, Cage's Eddie King is drug-addled and violent but his aggressive, manic manner of speech prompted me to want to laugh and I am pretty sure that was not the intended effect.
In addition, his character does not age. The early scenes see him commit murder before the prying eyes of a local teenager.
The film then moves on 23 years but, while the youngster has turned into a grizzled middle-aged man, Eddie King has exactly the same haircut, complexion and physical strength.
This is all the more surprising when it becomes clear that he is a cocaine addict.
Anyway, the film's lead is Adrian Grenier who plays JP, a straight-down-the-line businessman, who is constantly having to watch the back of the aforementioned teenager-turned-grey-beard (Johnathon Schaech).
The latter is a loser who is always searching for the big deal to put him straight but never finding it. This leads him to receive heat from the law as well as the criminals with whom he becomes mixed up.
However, he is unwavering in his loyalty to his brother and, as a consequence, JP is prepared to do all within his power to help him out of his jams.
Inevitably, one of the latter should involve Eddie King and a heck of a lot of blood.
Yes, Southern Fury is gory and shows its killings in slow motion so the audience can see the droplets of the red stuff.
In addition, it is gratuitous, has a dozen plot holes, is poorly acted and has a script which is riddled with cliches.
It is memorable for all of the wrong reasons.

Reasons to watch: if you enjoy watching Nicolas Cage at his most crazed
Reasons to avoid: weak plot, cliched dialogue and bathes in gory violence

Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: yes
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 2/10

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