Cage shines in a film that could have been brilliant - 70%

Rating: 6/10 (21 June 2006)

One of many things my Better Half and I share is a deep-rooted respect for Nicolas Cage. Personally, I find it hard to think of a movie he's done that I haven't enjoyed in some way – whether he's in blockbuster action fluff like "The Rock" or in seriously heavy dramas like "Leaving Las Vegas". OK, I can forgive anyone "Con Air" and Hell, every rule has to be broken at some point. From the moment I first saw the trailer, I could tell that this wasn't Cage in wide-eyed Elvis mode. "Lord Of War" is something that screams to be taken seriously, despite the near-the-knuckle humour and deep implausibility of it all. This is a very modern war film and an original one, delving into a world seldom explored in movies.
Cage plays Yuri Orlov, a Ukranian gun-runner who takes us on a journey from his early days living in America to his rise to the top of the pile. In the beginning, he trades Uzis to local gangsters with the help of his younger brother Vitaly (Jared Leto) but soon eclipses the efforts of his British idol, the veteran arms dealer Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm). But for all of his money, he is morally bankrupt - his trophy wife (Bridget Moynahan) is unaware of Yuri's other women, his son grows up without him, his brother descends into a drug-fuelled hell and the dubious nature of his business continues to eat at Yuri's soul. As if this wasn't enough, he is constantly forced to outwit federal agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) who is getting ever closer to catching Yuri.
While "Lord Of War" is an excellent character study of a thoroughly disgusting human being, it isn't what I would call an entertaining film. It has a streak of wickedly black humour running through it but because the truth seems so improbable (at least, I hope it is) and because Yuri is so vile a person, you don't sympathise with him at all. Cage is typically brilliant as the slimy arms dealer and Hawke is a perfect foil for him. But the story is one that you rarely identify with, set in a world that is both horrifying and reprehensible. The fact that many do this for real - a fact hammered home by the end credits - and often with the blessing of their respective governments can't help but anger those of us with a conscious.
"Lord Of War" strikes me as being one of those 'cult' movies that come along every now and again. It's not a laugh-a-minute and anyone who saw the trailer (like I did) may feel slightly disappointed (like I am). I do feel that the film was marketed as something that it wasn't - maybe the studios felt that a serious war movie with a moral ending wouldn't have made much at the box office. I noticed that no American studio would fund "Lord Of War" and I wasn't surprised, given the US's current love for all things trigger-based. I respect the fact that this is a well-made, intelligent film but for me, I prefer something with a more overt anti-war message such as "Black Hawk Down". By comparison, "Lord Of War" comes across as a darker version of "Jerry Maguire" and to be honest, that's not what I'm looking in a war film.