Has the feel of an important movie

Rating: 7/10 (21 June 2007)

The tone of the movie established in the beginning is entertaining, though it doesn't seem to motivate the character's choice of actions. Growing up in the violence of Hell's Kitchen, he decides to becomes an illegal gun salesman for the local thugs. Hoping to expand his business, he and his brother work to enter the world stage.
Selling guns illegally is akin to selling any illegal product, from drugs to being a mobster like in "The Sopranos." But there's no sense of Cage's character being a mobster. His disconnect from what his product is used for and his responsibility of that use is interesting but probably a very foreign concept to 99.9% of the population.
He is so calculating and cavalier through-out the movie, it's difficult to develop a sense of empathy towards him. However, his character is presented in such an entertaining fashion, it's difficult to despise him for what he does. There are efforts made to suggest that he had a sense of morals, but truthfully, it comes across more as him just being a spineless worm.
The film takes a very dark turn in its final reel as his world begins to fall apart. When that happens, its light hearted tone is lost and the viewer is left not caring about the character. It recovers slightly at the end.