Is Nicolas Cage’s “The Surfer” Good? Here’s the Reviews.

Originally posted on SURFER | By Dashel Pierson | Last updated Mar 14, 2025 1:28 PM ET

The longest standing ovation ever at the Cannes Film Festival went to Guillermo del Toro’s 2006 freaky fairytale, Pan’s Labyrinth, clocking in at 22 minutes. As for Lorcan Finnegan’s new flick, The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage? That got six minutes of standing and applauding. Not bad.

While the applause-o-meter at Cannes is a strange, totally non-scientific barometer for a film’s actual quality, it does show something. So, does the fact that some people walk out of the theater during a movie – but that, also in a weird way, could be a good thing. What’s more substantial is the official reviews, the experts, the critics, weighing in on what they thought before a movie’s release.

And so, the reviews for The Surfer are in. As we’ve already heard and seen from the official trailer, the film features Nicolas-Cage-being-Nicolas-Cage in a Twilight Zone-esque psychological thriller-comedy, with a man and his son doing battle with a group of feisty locals at an Australian beach, and, supposedly, at one point the lead character contemplates eating a dead rat. And it's all draped in a haze of sun-soaked, surfy, sepia, as Cage’s character (as they usually do) descends into lunacy.

But…is it any good? Let’s dive into the reviews:

“In the end, the film feels too rollicking and self-parodying to be taken seriously, but it strikes just the right tone to make it a fun Midnight movie for film festivals, which is exactly how it was programmed in Cannes. At least it looks great, with very on-point editing and another stylish visual collaboration between Finnegan and DP Radek Ladczuk, who shot Finnegan’s last Nocebo, also a mixed bag, as well as The Babadook.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“The Surfer is amusing to a point, but it has an overly broad and cursory quality that, I think, will limit its appeal in the real world. It’s not that I don’t take the promise of Nicolas Cage’s artful overacting seriously. It’s that I take it just seriously enough not to want to see it come out only at midnight.” – Variety

“While The Surfer does go off the rails a bit in its final act, which drops the film’s surreal side and devolves into a more conventional thriller, it’s still an interesting watch. The chemistry between Cage and McMahon is especially absorbing, and it should find plenty of fans when Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate put it out later this spring.” – JoBlo

“The Surfer has a big twist in its third act that, while also very funny, offers some poignant commentary about male behavior and toxicity, and about the dangers of dumb people with a social media presence talking nonsense about man's inherent predator behavior and how swell it is to unleash the beast. That being said, some of the late-film developments are too obviously telegraphed and take away from the surprises. Still, when it comes to Nicolas Cage movies where he fights insurmountable odds while losing his mind, The Surfer is a great time.” – SlashFilm

“The Surfer is an addictive watch. We can’t help but root for Cage to get down to that beach and when he finally does, it’s glorious. He and Julian McMahon are excellent, with the latter giving a balanced performance that sits somewhere between vicious and brazen. Scally and the Surfer’s interactions center the film, even as it begins to drag. The twist ending brings everything back and makes everything that came before well worth it.” – ScreenRant

The Surfer is slated for release on May 2nd, 2025.

This article first appeared on SURFER and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: