It’s the story of a man that doesn’t have everything figured out. He has kids he doesn’t understand, an ex wife that doesn’t understand him and a father with very big shoes to fill. In other words, he’s like virtually every man in America.

Nicolas Cage has made an art form of portraying extraordinary men with very ordinary characteristics. He perfects that art in WEATHER MAN. There’s really no reason we should be able to relate to his character. He’s rich, he’s famous, and he’s on his way to being more rich and famous. However, Nicolas Cage manages to capture the emotions and feelings that ultimately makes for a very memorable character and movie. Despite the lead character being relatively famous, he still struggles with being a father, son and husband.

I enjoyed this film and I found myself consistently impressed with Gore Verbinski’s direction and decision making. He had an amazing actor in Nic Cage, but the movie ran a fine line between touching and pretentious. It’s a credit to Gore that he took the time to focus on expressions and happenings that are usually forgotten. That, coupled with Nic’s talents made WEATHER MAN a very impressive character study.

That’s not to say it didn’t have its faults. I found that the filmed lacked whenever the attention was taken off of Cage. I understand the time constraints, but we never really had a chance to understand the emotions and reasoning behind the supporting cast. They were there to highlight Cage rather than the story.

Overall, this is a good flick that seems to have been forgotten. I think the public has started taking Nicolas Cage's performances for granted since he has so many great ones. The WEATHER MAN however, is one that you shouldn't let pass you by.

Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1): This is a nice, crisp transfer.

Audio: English 5.1, French 5.1, English 2.0, with Spanish and English subtitles: Surround sound wasn't utilized, but dialogue comes through fine.

I really feel WEATHER MAN was worthy of a commentary. It’s a character study, and it would have been nice to get some more insight from Gore or Nic on what they saw in the characters that didn’t make it on screen.

Extended outlook: The script (10:03): The producer, director and screenwriter talk about the evolution of the script into the movie. It's your typical story of the process, but it’s interesting to note that the whole process took about a year. I guess time speeds up when CGI isn’t involved.

Forecast: Becoming a weatherman (5:45): Nicolas Cage and an actual Chicago weatherman talk about Nic’s transformation into the weatherman. It's neat to see the contrast in the two and it made for an interesting feature. For the record, the real weatherman has never been hit with anything. Of course, I would have liked to get that on record after the movie had been out for a while.

Atmospheric Pressure: The style and palette (9:23): The filmmakers talk about the color and style of the Windy City. This is mainly ten minutes of everyone gushing themselves over the windy city. Unfortunately, I’ve only been in the Chicago airport so I can’t say whether or not it’s a beautiful city.

Relative humidity: The characters (19:43): This is the best of the bunch. The gang talks about the characters and the inspirations behind them. I’m always interested in learning what goes on in the mind of an actor as he prepares for a character. I wouldn’t say this is groundbreaking, but I definitely enjoyed the insight from each actor.

Trade winds: The collaboration (15:39): I think this one should have been combined with the Extended Outlook featurette. This one looks at all the smaller players that helped make the movie. It mainly just assigns names to otherwise forgotten role players, which is why it should be attached to another featurette rather than stand on its own.

There are also a hand full of Trailers.

Despite it’s minor flaws, I feel this film will hit home with most audiences. You get a superb performance from Nicolas Cage and many memorable scenes that will have you shaking your head agreeably. Definitely worth the two hour investment. However, without a commentary or deleted scenes, don't be surprised if you see a special edition in the future.