This Nicolas Cage western based on a classic novel is a must-see for Hulu subscribers

Nicolas Cage has made so many films that even Nicolas Cage probably has trouble keeping up with them all. While this has left his CV littered with a large amount of stinkers – like “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance”, one of the worst Marvel films of all time – his prolific work rate also means that most people have several really good Cage films that they’ve never seen, or maybe even heard of.

One of Cage’s little-known gems is now available to Hulu subscribers, and it’s a particularly interesting specimen. Gabe Polsky’s 2022 western “Butcher’s Crossing” is based on a 1960 novel of the same name by John Williams, which has been compared to Cormac McCarthy’s realistic Western fare. That’s not the worst possible point of comparison, given that what may well be the greatest neo-Western of our time, the Coen brothers’ “No Country for Old Men” (2007), was based on McCarthy’s book.

Although Cage himself doesn’t rank the film’s script among the five best he’s ever read, it’s still worth watching. In fact, with a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 72%, “Butcher’s Crossing” is an integral part of the actor’s spectrum of critically acclaimed work, and certainly his highest-rated Western.

“Butcher’s Crossing” is the story of two very different men who embark on a singular and brutal mission. It takes place during the final years of the Great American Bison Massacre, which killed tens of millions of bison and nearly drove them to extinction. Young, romantic Will Andrews (Fred Hechinger, “The White Lotus”) wants to experience hunting himself, so he agrees to finance gruff buffalo hunter Miller’s (Cage) dream of traveling to a remote place where he’s convinced buffalo still roam. Honestly, what happens next is best enjoyed without spoilers, but instead of the romantic action of the Wild West, the film leans heavily on just about every flavor of Old West wilderness survival stories before the story reaches its conclusion.

As with most Nic Cage films, the main attraction of “Butcher’s Crossing” is the Oscar winner himself. Here he plays the vaguely Captain Ahab-esque Miller with the brooding end of Nicolas Cage’s patented acting tool kit, and remains recognizable despite shaving his head and sporting a thick beard to fit the 19th century outdoorsman archetype. Still, this is a very different Cage than, say, his 2024 performance in Oz Perkins’ “Longlegs” — but it’s honestly a good overview, as is his relatively tone-deaf performance in a film that’s full of beautiful and brutal images.

“Butcher’s Crossing” is available to stream on Hulu.