Engaging movie that manages to make a point as well

Rating: 8/10 (17 September 2005)

"The Lord of War" is the story of an arms dealer (Nicholas Cage) from the start of his career up through the time a federal agent begins pursuing him on gun-running charges (Kevin Bacon). The movie kept my attention from the opening credits--a bullet's eye view of the manufacture, transport, and ultimate use of a bullet--through the closing credits. The writers manage to educate the audience quite a bit about the gun trade, while keeping you moving ahead with Cage's increasingly large-scale and dangerous career. While issues of the morality of gun-running (both individual and government-sponsored) get brought up, they're kept second-place to the story. I walked out feeling satisfied with the story, actually thinking a bit about the issues the film brought up. Few movies manage to make a statement and tell an engaging story. This does both.