Spoiler Warning: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)If nothing else, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent was the Nic Cageiest movie in the history of Nic Cage-dom. The 2022 film stars Nicolas Cage (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Leaving Las Vegas), obviously, as well as Sharon Horgan (Imagine Me & You, Game Night), Ike Barinholtz (Suicide Squad, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising), Alessandra Mastronardi (To Rome With Love, Master of None), Jacob Scipio (Bad Boys for Life, Batgirl), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, A Million Ways to Die in the West), and Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, Between Two Ferns: The Movie). The film features an all-star cast of characters that serve as an excellent foundation to this Cagey monolith.

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An additional actor, however, proves to be the shining star of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent: Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian). Cast as the lovable Javi Gutierrez, Pascal delights audiences in his portrayal of a billionaire obsessed with the career of Nicolas Cage. Though surrounded by a cadre of talented actors, not least of which is the titular massive talent, Cage, Pedro Pascal delivers a performance that is more than able to carry the aforementioned massive weight.

Pedro’s Passionate Performance

It’s possible Pedro Pascal is one of the greatest actors working today. He has to be, too; co-starring alongside the legendary Nicolas Cage necessitates a certain level of acting ability. It’s clear Pedro was aware of this fact, and he brought everything to his sidekick slot in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

Audiences have seen Pedro Pascal in many roles, from space cowboy to combative prince. In this film, we get to see Pascal as a vulnerable sweetheart whose unattainable love for Alessandra Mastronardi’s Gabriela and his fraught relationship with his cousin, the unstable and violent Carlos, portrayed by Jason Scipio, encapsulate the film’s emotional range.

Pedro Pascal is the representative of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent’s audiences in many ways. He loves Nicolas Cage and worries that his undying affection could ultimately spoil their relationship. Javi ultimately finds himself partnering with Cage, and similarly, audiences cannot help but find themselves on Cage’s side.

Comedic Chops

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At this point, however, everyone knows that Pedro Pascal is a talented actor. What audiences couldn’t have expected was his undeniable penchant for all things comedic. Every moment in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent serves as another platform for Pascal to show off his wit and timing.

In one of the film’s earlier moments, Nicolas Cage arrives on Javi’s private island. He decides to question his escort, later revealed to be Pedro Pascal’s Javi himself. Cage decides to inquire as to whether or not Javi wants Cage, to put things delicately, copulate with Javi or his wife. As teased in the trailer, Pascal’s Javi informs Cage that he is, in fact, Javi. Fans were certain that this would not be one of Pascal’s traditional roles.

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In a film that was largely comedic at its core, the vast majority of laugh of loud lines belong to Javi. Ironically, in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Cage becomes the straight man, and without the comedic chops of Pedro Pascal, it would not have sufficient levity.

Best of Buddies

At the end of the day, more than anything else, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is the ultimate buddy flick. Audiences can see clearly the admiration Pedro Pascal has for the esteemed Nicolas Cage, even through the filter of their on-screen alter egos.

Their real-life affection is palpable throughout The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Even when the film’s two stars find themselves in a Mexican Standoff, Pascal wielding a standard black pistol and Cage armed with the pair of golden guns his former character Castor Troy utilized in the 1997 film Face/Off. Ultimately, the choice not to shoot each other, instead teaming up to save Cage’s family and Javi’s loved ones in the film’s bombastic conclusion. Lost in the contemporary fixation on romanticism is the timeless trend of man on man love. Pedro Pascal and Nicolas Cage, in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, harken back to a time when bros were allowed to be bros.

A worse actor may have found themselves imprisoned by the multi-faceted, energetic acting chops that comprise the bars of the inescapable Nicolas Cage. This was not true of Pedro Pascal. Audiences laughed and cried alongside Javi, and when the dust of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent settled, it was not the A-lister Nic Cage whose performance stuck with audiences, but the emotional journey of Pedro Pascal’s Javi, and as such, Pascal definitely carried the weight of this project.