'War' games: Cage does well, story needs help

Rating: 6/10 (12 September 2005)

While his earlier-made film, "The Weatherman," sits in unreleased hiatus, Nicholas Cage's newest release is a rousing, violent, often-humorous, semi-fictional biopic of international arms smuggler, Yuri Orlov as "The Lord Of War." Clever opening credits show the life cycle of a bullet, from it's manufacture to it's firing into the body of a young African  all to the sounds of Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," while Cage tells us that seven out of 10 people own a gun worldwide. "The question is," he intones dryly, "how to we arm the other three."
The story begins in the Little Odessa section of Brooklyn in 1982, when Orlov, the son of Ukrainian immigrants (the father pretends to be Jewish  so much so, he opens a deli and attends temple every week), makes his first deal, selling an Israeli-made Uzi to some drug dealers.
Going into the "business" with his brother, Vitali (Jared Leto, "Panic Room," "Alexander"), Yuri discovers that with a charming smile and a quick mind, he can actually make a living at this trade. Though not in the same league as other arms traders, such as snooty Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm, "Lord of the Rings," "Alien"), he is still getting richer by the year.
For Yuri, the bigger the war (or conflict) the better. Cage's voice-overs take us through disturbances in the Middle East, South America, Asia and other global hot-spots where he has growing power and influence through his sale of arms and ammunition.
When the Soviet Union breaks up, he shouts and cries tears of joy  not because his beloved Ukraine is finally free from the grasp of totalitarian Communism  but because the coming nationalist battles between the breakaway republics means much more business for him and his brother.
While all of this is going on, the pair is being doggedly pursued by incorruptible ATF agent, Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke, "Assualt On Precinct 13," "Training Day"), who chases them from one end of the globe to the other.
Meanwhile, Vitali, who is supposed to be the conscience of the film (as well as of his brother), goes on a coke jag and is rendered pretty much ineffectual for the rest of his life.
Forced to go it alone, Yuri soon woos and marries his longtime idol, model Ava Fontaine (Bridgette Moynahan, I Robot), and begins dealing with Liberian dictator, Andre Baptiste, Sr. (a great performance by Eamonn Walker, "Unbreakable," "Tears of the Sun") and his crazed son (Sammi Robbi, "Tears of the Sun").
Through this unholy alliance, Yuri begins to lose all control of his life  which proceeds the breakup of his marriage, dis-ownership by his parents, and, finally, his arrest.
Film makes the point that what Yuri, as sort of a freelancer, is doing is not that bad, compared the arms sales of such governments as the US, Great Britain, Russia, Israel, China and others. This is like saying that it's okay to beat someone up  just as long as you did not kill the person.
Director Andrew Niccol ("Gattaca") attempts to make Yuri's exploits tongue-in-cheek, yet we are inundated with reminders that he trades in death (the results of his work). Yuri excuses this reality by claiming he is allowing countries to defend themselves.
It's pretty hollow, and Niccol's attempts to sanctify Orlov seem just as empty. Likewise, when Valentine finally takes Yuri into custody, he does so spouting statistics about how bad firearms and the dealing in them are. Thanks for the sledgehammer, Andrew, we get it.
And while humorous in spots, it is not a comedy; and while violent in other areas, it's not an action film. So, we are caught somewhere in between, with an interesting story to tell, but an uninteresting way of telling it.