Nearly 34% Enjoyed This Recent Nicolas Cage Movie The Most

Nicolas Cage is one of those actors whose reputation precedes them. He kicked off his acting career in the 1980s and soon became one of Hollywood's rising stars as that decade drew to a close. Come the '90s, he continued to build his name as a leading man through projects like "Face/Off" and "Con Air," which led him to prosper in the 2000s. "Matchstick Men," "National Treasure," "Ghost Rider," and more all added him to the cast list, affording him more opportunities to showcase his, well, unique acting style at the movies.

As the 2010s began, Nicolas Cage continued to find work at every turn, even if many of these projects struggled to garner much attention. Although, for every "Arsenal" — a direct-to-video footnote in Cage's career — there was a "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" to keep him at the forefront of the entertainment world. In fact, one could argue that Cage's name value is a major reason why such efforts as "Mandy" received widespread attention and praise instead of falling by the wayside. Unsurprisingly, this trend has continued in the 2020s.

Though it's not even halfway through, Nicolas Cage has already starred in a good number of films in the 2020s, many of which have flown under the mainstream radar. According to roughly 34% of moviegoers, this was his most enjoyable offering in recent years.

To gauge interest in some of Nicolas Cage's latest flicks, Looper ran a poll that asked 592 respondents to choose one of four recent titles as their favorite of the bunch. 2020's "Jiu Jitsu" came in last with a mere 16.39% of the ballots, placing it firmly under "Pig" from 2021, which took home 23.14%. Next came the bonkers "Five Nights at Freddy's"-esque "Willy's Wonderland" from 2021 at 26.69%, leaving "Prisoners of the Ghostland" from that same year to score first place with the remaining 33.78% of the votes. 

Helmed by visionary director Sion Sono — known best for such films as "Love Exposure" and "Suicide Club" –, "Prisoners of the Ghostland" starred Nicolas Cage as Hero. Though a seasoned criminal, he's tasked by the Governor (Bill Moseley) to retrieve his daughter, Bernice (Sophia Boutella), from a region known as the Ghostland. Despite the danger involved with traversing an irradiated, dangerous wasteland, Hero takes the job, making for a film that audiences loved and supplemented both Cage and Sono's filmographies quite nicely.

Reactions to "Prisoners of the Ghostland" were mixed at best, and it wasn't exactly a box office juggernaut, but that seemingly did little to affect people's enjoyment of it. After all, a fair number of people would consider it Nicolas Cage's most entertaining release out of his recent crop of films.