NCU 84: Gunslingers (2025) Review

·32 min·3 clips

The film school janitors review a 2025 Nick Cage western where everyone fakes their deaths to collect bounties.

The episode begins with the hosts introducing their podcast, Nick Cage University, where they review films starring Nicolas Cage. They start with 'Gunslingers,' a 2025 western film. The hosts describe the plot: Stephen Dorff's character shoots his brother, who catches fire, and flees to a town called Redemption. They reveal the town's secret: it's full of wanted people who fake their deaths to collect bounties and live peacefully. The hosts criticize the film's convoluted setup and poor logic, such as characters hiding upstairs during shootouts. They discuss Nick Cage's role as a peace-seeking character who channels Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday. The conversation shifts to how Kilmer's portrayal has become the definitive version of Doc Holliday. They mention Heather Graham's role and the inclusion of Stallone's daughter, Samantha Stallone. The hosts digress into a tangent about the film 'Swingers' and the careers of its cast, like Jon Favreau. Later, they critique 'Gunslingers' for its weak character moments and overuse of fire stunts. The episode includes a historical aside where the hosts realize the Wild West and 1920s mafia eras overlapped, with Billy the Kid and Al Capone alive simultaneously. They end by rating the film 3.6 on IMDb and note they will review another Cage film, 'The Carpenter's Son,' next.

As heard by us

A Nick Cage western review becomes a loose, funny dig through shootouts, Doc Holliday echoes, and director-biography confusion.

Film School Janitors head back to Nick Cage University for Gunslingers, a western treated less like a story than a delivery system for shootouts, a sickly Nick Cage performance, and a doomed relationship.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Want Nick Cage in a 2025 western, a lot of shootout talk, and a Doc Holliday detour in one sitting?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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