War, What Is It Good For - A Laugh, Obviously

Rating: Null/10 (18 January 2006)

Today's pleasant surprise was 'Lord of War', which was really rather good. As a good ol' left-leaning Guardian reader I know a little of the villainies of the arms trade, but from a nuts and bolts perspective this film was really rather educational. The film-makers sensibly let events unfold without heavy-handed authorial judgement.
Nick Cage's everyman screen-persona is used to good effect Â– he's amiable, genial even, and prone to wry dark commentary on his job, but his 'If I didn't do this job someone else would' attitude, probably mirrors that of much of the US and UK film-going audiences. The consequence of his actions and attitudes are nicely layered, and their representation subtly paced. We, as a collective audience, are encouraged applaud our 'hero's wits as he confounds his interfering Interpol adversary, Ethan Hawke, in the early stages of the movie, which makes us complicit in the consequences of those wiles, seen in graphic detail later on.
The film also has a few interesting things to say about the US Government's arms-trade interests, and their own culpability in many of the world's killing fields.
Not bad at all.