There’s an unspoken rule of kick-ass cinema that goes something like this: if Nic Cage is attracted to a project, it’s guaranteed to at least be more interesting than most, if not all-out bonkers. Such is the case with “Prisoners of the Ghostland,” an outrageous achievement in gonzo filmmaking from director Sion Sono. The film doesn’t have a very complicated plot and a lot of it makes no sense, but this is a badass-looking showpiece of cult cinema.

A bank robber (Nicolas Cage) is sprung from jail by the Governor (Bill Moseley) and is given a task that he can’t refuse. In exchange for his freedom, the convict must find and rescue the Governor’s missing granddaughter, Bernice (Sofia Boutella). The unlikely hero is sent into the barren, hazardous area known as the Ghostland, outfitted with a leather suit that is set to explode if things don’t go as planned (spoiler alert: they don’t). His journey takes him on a wild adventure that’s filled with gunslingers, samurai, and the radioactive residents of a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

The film isn’t burdened with genre conventions and as a result, his film has an original vision that plays like Mad Max kabuki theater. From nightmarish visuals to elaborate costumes, this blend of East meets West is a choreographed symphony of strange from start to finish. It’s a ridiculously good looking movie, with brightly colored hues and stunning cinematography. It’s a real feast for the eyes.

There’s a specific audience for this movie, and you can probably sense if you’re in that group or not. Bottom line: if you love seeing Nicolas Cage doing outrageously Cage-y things, then “Prisoners of the Ghostland” should be on your must-see list.

Sono Sion and Nicolas Cage, I was so waiting for this one... but it's a big disappointment.

What is good: the visuals. The first scene is so Sono Sion, too bad the rest is not at the same level. Anyway the japanese town decor is great, and the ghostland town, and all the costumes there too. It looks great, there's no denying that.

The governor's character is really good too. A sharp contrast with the hero that is totally bland.

And it starts well too. The introduction of the hero, the costume that might blow his balls off, and the leaving for his mission on a bicycle instead of the car he's given.

Aaaaaaand, that's it. After that, nothing much is worth watching. Well except actually having [spoiler]one of his balls blown, without touching the other[/spoiler]!

His mission is to go to this mysterious ghostland to find a girl. But he just gets there, and here she is, doesn't even have to look for her. Not exactly sure what the people there are. Rebels ? Criminals ? Society rejects ? They're forcefully stopping a clock, that seems to be the main activity.

There seem to be issues with the so called ghosts, but it's not exactly clear what the issue is supposed to be as the hero just meets with them, is like "be cool guys" and they're like "sure", and that's it.

So part from the reveal (not that it was not obvious before) that [spoiler]the governor is the bad guy here[/spoiler], it feels like the whole main part of the movie is missing. There is no real action, nothing significant happening. The whole ghostland part, between the intro and the final fight, is basically empty.

Not clear either what the world is. Whether the japanese town or the ghost land. Are they an artificial world/virtual reality, a mind prison or something ? Or a metaphor for something else ? The world looks more normal in the bank robbery flashback, you kinda expect to come back to that, but no, never any mention.

There are some fights, not that interesting, and they mostly focus on Yasujiro, the governor's bodyguard. Strangely it's never clear who/why he's fighting. In the beginning he seem to protect the hero from the mob around (though why would they attack him in front of the governor giving him a mission ? Made no sense). But in the ending, as he is clearly fighting the hero, he's still protecting him from the other guys that attack him, exactly like in the beginning. Makes even less sense.

There is probably some meaning behind all that, and not that hard to find, but the story and action were boring enough that I didn't manage to pay attention.

If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @
https://www.msbreviews.com

Nonsensical. Absurd. Ridiculous. Just plain stupid. These words usually serve to describe an incredibly awful movie that I try to forget forever and ever. However, some extremely rare pieces of absolutely crazy filmmaking are also characterized by the adjectives above, offering me the most entertaining time I can possibly ask for. An example of this case is Prisoners of the Ghostland. It’s exceptionally dumb, follows a narrative completely devoid of any logic, and mixes up dozens of many genres by using different costumes, all sorts of epic scores, and character archetypes.

Boasting an impressive production and set design (major Hollywood studios should be envious), Sion Sono offers the audience precisely what they expect from a film starring the maddest actor alive, Nicolas Cage. From the well-choreographed, well-edited, explosively bloody, hilarious action sequences to the infinite storylines, the viewers either accept whatever lunatic plot point or device the movie throws at the audience, or this is going to be a festival of pointing out what’s wrong with the whole film. Prophecies, nuclear wars, zombies, samurais, cowboys… every generic development and formulaic characters we always see in every genre are present in this amalgam of pure chaos.

As expected, Cage shines in another role that will probably generate thousands of new memes, but this time Sofia Boutella and Bill Moseley also deliver two captivating performances that kept me invested when Cage was out. The only problem I have with this type of movie is the balance of the whole craziness. I don’t mind every single minute being packed with utterly ludicrous stuff, but when it starts getting genuinely confusing, that’s when it becomes too much for me to handle. Nevertheless, as long as you keep your mind open and focus on the protagonist’s main mission - and solely on that - you’ll be able to enjoy this movie as much or more than I did.

Prisoners of the Ghostland is everything a film starring Nicolas Cage is expected of being. Possessing technical attributes of making the biggest Hollywood studios shamelessly hide with envy, Sion Sono’s movie is as illogical, absurd, ridiculous, stupid, and insanely entertaining as I hoped it would be. By mixing up dozens of distinct genres, the straightforward premise gets sucked into a world of total anarchy, where samurais, cowboys, nuclear explosions, modern cars, and much more collide to surround an otherwise simple narrative with nonsensically hilarious storylines and awesome action sequences. Sofia Boutella and Bill Moseley help Cage tackle this chaos, but the latter is the absolute standout due to his remarkable experience in crazy films. Despite it occasionally crossing the line and becoming too much for me to manage - it becomes seriously confusing - as long as the viewers are well-prepared to accept every jaw-dropping new development, fun is guaranteed with this brilliant satire.

Rating: A-

The problem with _Prisoners of the Ghostland_ is that Nicolas Cage himself tried to promote it as the craziest film he’s ever made, but the film never lives up to the insane concept of having a bomb strapped to your nutsack. The film forcefully shoves Mad Max influences into a Japanese theme with nuclear deformed samurai ghosts, bouncing gumballs, animal masks, pinwheels, and bubbles, and Nicolas Cage threatening to karate chop everyone into oblivion. All of this absurdity sounds like it should be way more memorable than it actually ends up being. _Prisoners of the Ghostland_ is a massive letdown that implodes under its own lackluster outrageousness.

**Full review:** https://hubpages.com/entertainment/Prisoners-of-the-Ghostland-2021-Review-An-Oddball-Samurai-Infused-Jambalaya