Nicolas Cage makes driving angry fun

With action that surprises with its smartness and humor, I raised my expectations for “Drive Angry” after the first few scenes. Although it never ultimately delivers on its potential, Nicolas Cage’s new action thriller holds your attention in simple but effective ways.

Milton (Cage) is a coffee-drinking (“lots of sugar”), gun-toting gear head who causes mayhem whether he’s dining out, on the road or making love. We learn later why he seems so unstoppable, and the reveal is a twist so old, Homer would see it coming. But his antics are fun, if not exactly original, and they drive the story forward until the last act, when the characters start taking themselves too seriously.

Other than scene-stealer William Fichtner as “the Accountant,” the supporting cast is forgettable. The action sequences get less original as the story fizzles out into melodrama, losing the humor that set it apart at the beginning. But on the Nic Cage scale, we have to call a half-decent movie a win.