Which role you do you most associate Nicolas Cage with?

great question. one that does require careful approach.

first i wanted to say "Bad Lieutenant" but that may just be the film of his I liked the most. Then I wanted to say Peggy Sue Got Married but that may just be the first one of his I saw him in. then I wanted to say Con Air, because thats just such an iconic role. Then I wanted to say Face/Off because his role is so much fun there... but then I realized I only remember two or three scenes of his from the movie so maybe thats not enough.

The one I remember the most is probably City of Angels. I love the original, Wings of Desire, but I did enjoy City of Angels a lot as well. But then again, he is not a true Nic Cage in it. So where is he true Nic Cage, one that sticks out? Is it Wild At Hart? I remember having loved that movie at one point but its a long time ago and now I barely remember it. So would that count?

For me to claim I associate it with him the most it seems like it has to be

A] a movie I liked
B] movie I remember well enough to remember more than a couple of his scenes
C] movie where he was himself at least partially
D] movie that stands out in more than just its a vehicle for Cage.
E] movie where him being in it added extra value to the film

I almost said Adaptation. He did a great job there, he had his crazy part and his more toned downed part, its an amazing movie BUT again, I only recall two or three scenes really well with him if I am being honest. Matchstick Man would be close second to how much I liked it probably but the  same problem - I only recall a couple of shots that I could describe well with Cage in it. Maybe my memory sucks.

But after a very careful deliberation and going through his movies chronologically, it hit me: my clear winner is Kick Ass. I remember probably all of his scenes, I have seen the movie many times, I love it, I think its a great movie and his role is really iconic and he got to do a bit of crazy but also a lot of emotional scenes that stuck with me.

Yeah. Nic Cage is Bid Daddy.

The first ones that came to mind, before reading others answers was Birdy and National Treasure. I guess it ought to be somewhere in between, but I can't think of any title.

Face Off was the one that instantly came to mind, even though I haven't seen it in many years.

Vampire's Kiss

My answer: Wild at Heart

I just watched an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine from last season on Netflix. Jake has to go into protective custody with Capt. Holt's snooty husband, Kevin. Jake brings only his Nic Cage DVD collection to pass the time and forces Kevin to watch all of Cage's action movies against his will. Later, when they're freed, he learns of Cage's prestige films like Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Leaving Las Vegas and is upset that they didn't watch those instead.

Fire Birds, costarring Tommy Lee Jones. The two of them had excellent chemistry and it is always a pleasure to watch them in that movie.