solid story telling

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2005)

The film tells the life story of Yuri Orlov, a Ukrainian immigrant who turns to gun smuggling, a job he's very good at, as it turns out. The story manages to portray him both as a ruthless merchant of death and a sympathetic underdog trying to work his way up in the world. Cage, playing the lead character, pulls this off pretty neatly, never letting the story degrade to a simple morality tale.
Apart from one or two moments of shaky dialogue, both script and acting performances are rock solid. Cinematography is nothing groundbreaking, but wonderfully playful and engaging.
Overall the film engaging, well-paced, craftily told. It's a film for people who like their story telling without the usual black-and-white, good-vs-evil scenario. It manages to bring humor and shwung to subject matter that is pretty gruesome, without ignoring its seriousness.
So that's an 8/10 easily, in my book.