NIC Cage's career is a warning to all in Hollywood. An edgy character actor who was propelled into leading man status thanks to some genius casting decisions and a string of extremely popular over-produced action flicks but who is now drowning in the murk that is direct to video.

It's hard to imagine a more humiliating downfall for an A-List actor that's not been caused by drugs or sex or racism. Cage's name and face used to be enough to get the public to shell out for a movie ticket. First it was the art-house crowd. They loved his rockabilly, Huckleberry Hound persona, and the edge he brought to roles that were, to say the least, unusual. Raising Arizona, Wild at Heart and Vampire's Kiss wouldn't be the films they are without Cage.

The Oscar in 1996 for his role as an alcoholic screenwriter in Leaving Las Vegas suddenly widened his appeal, but what made him a movie star was the decision to cast him as an action hero opposite James Bond himself, Sean Connery, in the summer blockbuster The Rock. The film was a success and fans, long tired of the bulging muscles and cardboard acting of Arnie and Stallone, lapped up the live wire that was Cage.

Cage served up more of the same cartoonish fun in the action flicks Con Air, Face/Off, Snake Eyes and Gone in Sixty Seconds, and was all set to be the new Man of Steel in Tim Burton's planned reboot of Superman before the studio pulled the plug (though, not because of Cage).

He still managed to show off his serious acting side in such serious films as Martin Scorsese's Bringing Out the Dead, Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation and Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men.

But then things went funny. The hits dried up and Cage's acting became almost a parody of the style he served up in the Nineties (just Google "Not the bees"). His last box office success was in 2007 with National Treasure: Book of Secrets. His last six movies took just $87 million at the box office (his latest, Stolen, opened to just $183,000 and is set to disappear from cinemas quickly) while the last time he headlined a movie with a big budget and the backing of a big studio, 2010's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, ended in disappointment for all.

The quality of the films dropped off, too. Cage seems doomed to play a Charles Bronson-style figure who somehow has to take revenge on whoever disrupts his life. He is forever LOSING HIS S****! The titles all scream low-grade B-movies (and not the Tarantino kind). It's a sad day in your career when Sylvester Stallone is offering you salvation in the form of Expendables 3.

But movie posters are perhaps the best indicator of Cage's demise. They used to be impressive and eye-grabbing, and if nothing else, professionally finished. Now they look as if they've been put together by monkeys with the most basic version of Photoshop. They all scream: Nic, find some other way to pay of your tax bill and late rental fees.

Here is Nic Cage's career in posters:

Arthouse beginnings

The posters here are from Cage's earliest starring roles. They are quirky and offbeat, like Cage's characters, and have independent/ arthouse sensibility about them, i.e. could be found on any student wall in the late Eighties / early Nineties. Note that Cage's face isn't the selling point and that his head is in correct proportion to his body.

Nineties and Noughties action star

Cage's leap into the big league meant a change in the way his movies were advertised. His name got bigger and his face became a big selling point. The posters for The Rock and Con Air feature Cage prominently and although the artwork is blunter, it's still produced by a marketing department with professionals on staff. You'd be hard pressed to find any Photoshop fails on these posters.

Cage the Oscar-winning actor

Before his tax bills got out of control, Cage still took parts that allowed him to remind audiences he had an Oscar on his shelf. The advertising for these were polished versions of his earlier posters, but with his name and face front and centre (because he was a star now and these movies were riding on his A-List status).

Cage the Photoshop fail

The posters for Cage's last clutch of movies are some of the worst ever produced. Bad Photoshopping, awful titles and bizarre taglines are all anchored by a face that never seems to get old.

Bangkok Dangerous

This poster is about as bad as you can get. One hand seems to impossibly disappear into the folds of Cage's jacket; the other is HUGE and is missing what looks to be a gun. The bullet holes seem to defy physics and the flames below don't tell us anything about the film. The tagline, "It's all in the execution", was lost on whoever put together the poster.

Season of the Witch

Is Cage even looking at the evil woman reflected in the sword? His eyes seem to be missing her line of sight. And whose sword is it that's held up against his face? He can't be holding it because that would require a mutant-like arm. The woman's face is too close to Cage's own, which makes him look odd. Flames make an obligatory appearance because wherever Cage goes danger follows

Seeking Justice

The makers of this film must have accepted that Cage is no longer the force he once was because they have him in profile, looking a bit sad and lost. He isn't so much seeking justice, more looking for lost car keys.

Trespass

Cage and Kidman together can't be bad, can it? Yes, if Kidman's real face has been reduced to plastic and her body is out of proportion to her head. Cage's face looks as if it's been created by a computer programme, that's how fake it looks. Both actors don't even appear to be looking at the same thing.

Wild Side

Just a sad-looking head disappearing into a black background. The title says Wild Side but Cage betrays no hint of wildness within. In fact, his maroon shirt and tweed jacket suggest he's a marketing lecturer.

Stolen

The tagline and title are a shameless rip-off of the Liam Neeson action flick Taken but that's not the most criminal part of this poster. The cut out of Cage running away from an overturned car that is half on fire, half exploding says NIC CAGE R.I.P. Cage's hair appears to be a hat and his expression is one of mild panic/exhaustion.