Army of One (2016)

Army of One is special because it takes an utterly unbelievable true-ish premise and plays it with a straight-faced, oddly tender sincerity, letting the comedy bloom from one man’s stubborn faith in his own mission. Nicolas Cage gives a fully committed performance that turns Gary Faulkner into a shaggy, modern-day Don Quixote—earnest, delusional, and somehow charming enough that you keep rooting for him even as the world (and the CIA) rolls its eyes. The vibe is offbeat and scrappy, a quirky road-quest that bounces between absurdity and surprising warmth, with just enough low-budget adventure energy to keep it moving. It won’t be for everyone—especially if you’re looking for a grounded political thriller—but if you like your comedies weird, fearless, and carried by a singular lead, this one is a delightful swing.

Army of One is clearly aiming for an offbeat, faith-fueled, “true-ish” underdog comedy where a delusional everyman charges into a wildly dangerous mission with Don Quixote energy and Nicolas Cage turned up to eleven. The problem is that the jokes often land with a thud, the plot leans so hard into random absurdity that it starts to feel sloppy rather than surreal, and Cage’s deliberately grating persona can quickly become exhausting instead of endearing. If you don’t enjoy cringe-forward humor, repetitive “look how weird this guy is” beats, or comedies that treat serious subject matter with a cartoonish shrug, this will likely feel like a long, noisy slog. The redeeming angle is that it’s committed to its bizarre premise and occasionally flashes a strange charm, but it’s very much a “you’re either on its wavelength or you’re not” kind of movie.