Unseen Nicolas Cage Madness: The Director’s Cut of Army of One Will Make You Question Reality – Bin Laden’s Not Safe!
Added on June 21, 2025 inEntertainment News Cards, Movie News Cards
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Almost a decade ago, Nicolas Cage took on the wild and wacky role in Army of One, a comedy inspired by the true tale of Gary Faulkner—a contractor convinced the Big Guy upstairs sent him on a divine quest to nab Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Sounds bonkers enough to be a cult classic, right? Well, instead, it crashed and burned spectacularly, with critics coming down on it like a rogue planet in retrograde. The film was so disowned by director Larry Charles that he claimed it was butchered in the editing room by Bob Weinstein. Now here’s the kicker—if you’ve ever wondered what Charles’ uncut vision looked like, guess what? He quietly slipped the full director’s cut up on YouTube nearly a year ago. And the universe is still waiting for folks to hit play. This version is a hefty 2 hours and 40 minutes of what could have been, compared to the 93-minute theatrical mess. So, with Mercury doing its little dance in Gemini today—how’s that for cosmic timing?—maybe it’s time to revisit Army of One and decide: genius or just lost in translation? Buckle up, and dive in if you dare. LEARN MORE
Nearly ten years ago, Nicolas Cage starred in Army of One, a comedy based on the real-life story of Gary Faulkner, an ex-construction contractor who believed that God had sent him on a mission to capture Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. That sounds like it could have been fantastic, but unfortunately, the film was absolutely eviscerated upon release. Nearly everyone hated it. The film was disowned by director Larry Charles, who said it was heavily recut by Bob Weinstein. If you’ve been dying to know what Charles’ original vision for Army of One was, he’s uploaded the unreleased director’s cut on YouTube. Actually, he uploaded it nearly a year ago, but it doesn’t look like many people have watched it (thanks to World of Reel for the heads-up!)
You can check out the director’s cut of Army of One below, but be warned, it runs a whopping 2 hours and 40 minutes. For comparison, the theatrical version ran 93 minutes
As you can tell, the quality isn’t the best, but it’s watchable, especially if you’re curious to find out what Charles originally envisioned back in 2016.
In his review of the theatrical cut of Army of One, our own Chris Bumbray figured out early on that it would not be his cup of tea. “To give him credit, Cage goes all-in here,” Bumbray wrote. “This isn’t USS Indianapolis, where he looks embarrassed to be in such a low-rent production. He really tries, but Charles’s direction doesn’t help at all. It’s as if he directed Cage to act like he’s Sacha Baron Cohen, but that’s not where Cage’s talents lay. Having him play slapstick doesn’t work, and rather than finding the note that would endear him to us, his Faulkner is agonizing to watch, a problem for your main character.“
He continued, “It’s really a shame Army of One turned out so poorly as it’s chockfull of talent. This should have been good, and the premise is ambitious. In the end, the germ of a good idea wasn’t nearly enough to sustain a feature, and this is like a bad Funny or Die sketch stretched to feature-length. Only die-hard Cage fans need apply.” You can check out the rest of his review right here. Perhaps he’ll like the director’s cut a little more.
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