This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labour of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn't exist.
A crime thriller starring Nicolas Cage as a beach bum with a secret government past sounds enticing enough. There are most likely going to be entertaining fight scenes, amusing dialogue, and no doubt another iconic look created for Cage himself. Unfortunately, The Retirement Plan, slips into the worn-out predictable film category where there is very little to redeem itself.
After getting caught up with dangerous criminals, Ashley and her daughter Sarah seek out help from her estranged father, Matt. But when crime boss Donnie and his henchman Bobo catch up with them, Ashley soon finds out that her father had a secret violent past she knew nothing about.
Filmmakers in and out of the Hollywood sphere continue to churn out film after film, which means there are bound to be some disappointing results. In more recent years, there has been more than usual. As the market becomes more saturated with obvious ‘straight to streaming' content, it's disappointing to see Cage appearing in more streaming fodder than we'd like.
The cast for fall into two categories; either taking their role far too seriously or not even serious at all. Though Jackie Earle Haley is in between, clearly having a great time as run of the mill ‘bad guy' Donnie, is comfortably in both categories. Ron Perlman, who has the ability to be an imposing figure and genuine presence on screen, really takes it easy in this somewhat fleshed out role. He's even given a few somewhat heartfelt moments with Sarah, the child he's kidnapped. Taking the time out in the story to teach her about Othello. Grace Byers as the ‘big bad', Hector feels as if she's in another film completely and really deserved a better script. Cage however, is the glue holding this confusing and paper-thin plot together. He delivers what you'd expect and when he's on screen holds our attention but its not enough for the film to be in any way, satisfying.
The overall plot is frustrating with too many pointless characters clogging up the screen. In particular, the story trope, the absent father who was always working and daughter who always resented him for it, a tired and overdone, always included in action crime story featuring parents with secret pasts. The Retirement Plan is filled with cliches, predictable dialogue even the fight scenes are unimaginative. It isn't quite clear what writer-director Tim Brown was trying to achieve with the story but at least we got a Shakespeare lesson from Ron Perlman's character.
Signature Entertainment presents The Retirement Plan on Digital Platforms 29th September
