Smart and Beautiful

Rating: 9/10 (4 March 2006)

Nicolas Cage is totally up to this character, unfortunately his narrative isn't.
I use to think that voice acting was the easiest of all the acting jobs. It isn't. The actor must bring the character to life through their voice alone. Nicolas Cage does not deliver on this single point. However, the entire movie, and Cage's performance, is so well done that it doesn't damage the value of the movie very much (10/10 -> 9/10).
His commentary is very dry but not sociopathic or detached as the main character (Yuriy) is supposed to be. But for the rest of the movie he is totally convincing and a real joy to watch flawlessly making this character real... which later you find out... well, let me just say that you learn things you never hear about on the 6 o'clock news.
The photography and juxtaposition of the scenes and images is exceptionally well done. It strengthened the movie in a "smart" way. I felt as if I was reading (and most definitely enjoying) a think tank's paper on gun runners. 9/10
-Zafoid