A Blow To Arms Dealers

Rating: 8/10 (21 January 2006)

I had apprehensions over this movie, could Nick Cage pull off the complexities of such a demanding character as an international gunrunner without making his character look lampooned. Cage delivers the goods! All of the actors brought their A-Game...Ethan Hawke is especially nice as the By-the-books ATF agent on Cage's trail. Jared Leto was a good choice as the troubled brother, Vitaly. He brought a nice dimension to Cage's character that helped complete the overall picture of who Cage's Yuri actually was. On the other hand, Bridget Moynahan was likable as the supermodel Yuri was obsessed with...again, adding a dimension to Cage's Yuri to complete the tapestry of who his character was and defined Yuri's motivations.
This movie is a really good film from some of the cinematographic aspects as well. The opening sequence of following a single bullet from it's manufacturing to the end use was really powerful and put into perspective the volatile nature of the subject matter. After watching this movie, I could easily compare it to the Johnny Depp movie, Blow. What Depp did for Cocaine traffickers in his film, Nick does for the arms dealers in Lord of War. To tell you the truth, it broke down arms dealers into an occupation that one never put the perspective to in this light. Bottom line: this movie is worth adding to your collection.