Cage used to be such a good actor. I just don't understand what happened. His movie choices deteriorated along with his acting. I remember reading that he himself felt that his acting ability had declined; that he kept flubbing lines etc. So it's not just my opinion; it's cage's as well.

Nicolas Cage was terrific in
Birdy
and
Raising Arizona
. And I thought his characters in
Vampire's Kiss
and
Peggy Sue Got Married
were hilarious. He plays goofy characters really well. He was also the best thing about
Valley Girl
.
Welcome to
Fright Night
.for real.

I thought Cage was great.
I also liked Modine in his role.
that was the best I have seen from either of them.
I loved the ending.

you are trolling right?
"I dont know that Id want to visit my brain
except with a gun and a flashlight. Don Winslow

I thought the acting in this movie was horrible, particularly Mr. Cage's.

I agree with the OP, this may well be Nicholas Cage's best performance. I recall seeing this 3 times in the movies because of his performance. He seemed to lose focus on his acting after the 1980s, and his performances, well mostly ranging from decent to pretty good, never quite reached the apex of his acting in films like Birdy, Racing With The Moon, or Moonstruck.

Personally I think Nicolas Cage is exactly the same in every role he plays - he just looks a bit different (as in weight gain/physical shape). I am not at all a Nicolas Cage fan. Someone recommended Birdy to me so I watched it. I enjoyed the film. If I had seen Cage in only one film ever, perhaps I would like him. Maybe it is his voice or something, but he never really seems to change much.