My mama always told me that Nicolas Cage is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. It's with that proverb in mind that I present to you one of Hollywood's favorite "freak out" actors in director-writer Jason Cabell's upcoming film, RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL. In Cabell's new thriller, Cage plays a drug manufacturer known to his associates as The Cook, a man who can fix your drugs to be more powerful than they should be. Joining The Cook on his mission to bring a cartel's new product up to snuff is JOHN WICK franchise alum Laurence Fishburne, who enters the crime drama as The Man, a heavy who tries to keep The Cook's head above water.
Joining Cage and Fishburne for all the intense action are actors Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Leslie Bibb, Clifton Collins Jr., Peter Facinelli, Christian Tappan, Natalia Reyes, and Cole Hauser.
In what I can parse from the trailer, RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL looks to afford Cage with plenty of opportunities to bust out his signature crazy-eyes, as he channels a Walter White-like vibe a la BREAKING BAD for his new character. With the fuzz breathing down his neck and the cartel dangling a sword above his head, one has to wonder if The Cook will be able to handle the heat as opposed to getting the hell out of the kitchen.
Here's the synopsis for RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL:
When a cocaine shipment is compromised to the dismay of a drug cartel’s CEO, known simply as The Boss, he orders his most trusted henchman, The Cook, and his partner, another master drug trafficker known as The Man, on a dangerous journey to audit the company’s supply chain. As the drugs make their perilous trek across international borders, past gangsters, refiners, and couriers, they are also being tracked by Federal Agents. When The Cook realizes where the network is breaking down, it may be too late to keep the cartel satisfied.
RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL will arrive in select theaters and VOD on September 20.