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CageReview
'Lord of War' is an education in arms dealers and a call to arms against them
Despite this look at monstrous underworld, we never understand what drives men to kill.
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"Lord of War" isn't so much a movie as it is a political screed, a conspiracy theory, a brutal revelation and a darkly comic look at the least funny profession on earth, that being illegal arms dealer. It's a heavy-handed rant, an expose of cold-blooded, amoral murderers and, somewhat ironically, a call to arms.
As a drama, it isn't much. As education, its heart is certainly in the right place. As an entertainment experience, it's more than a bit of a repetitive. Bad things happen to bad people. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen, and they're going to continue happening.
Nicolas Cage stars as Yuri Orlov, a Ukranian immigrant living in a New York City enclave of immigrants who decides he wants to move up in the world. The best way to do that is to sell something everybody wants: guns. He starts out on the street, then enlists the help of his younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), to go worldwide. Wherever people are shooting at each other -- Africa, the Middle East, the disintegrating Soviet Union -- Yuri is willing to sell them the means to murder.
But, in the beginning, the results of their sales success are only too visible, and Vitaly can't take it anymore. He turns to drugs and becomes a revolving rehab patient. Obviously, Vitaly has a damaged soul, whereas Yuri has no soul at all.
He does, though, have desires, chief among them being Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), a supermodel who grew up in his neighborhood. In typical Yuri fashion, he hires her for a photo shoot at an island resort, which he buys, and cancels the shoot just so she'll be stuck in an empty hotel with him. He then offers her a ride home on his private jet, which is really a rental, and wins her over, convincing her he's wildly rich when he's not.
Ah, but war is a steady business and soon Yuri is wealthy beyond his dreams, living a double life with his unsuspecting family on one hand and dangerous customers on the other. Throughout the film, Yuri is always just a few steps ahead of an Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke) who knows his secrets, but a few steps is all it takes.
Eventually, though, Yuri's life comes crumbling down in ways far too obvious. As Ava finds out about his occupation, Vitaly signs up for one more job and Yuri's customer base becomes upset. By then we've gotten the messages loud and clear. Amoral men working behind the scenes are promoting the slaughter of thousands of people worldwide on a weekly basis. If you do evil, you will lose those things you love most. The business of America, and of the world, is business.
Hardly subtle stuff, but then writer-director Andrew Niccol ("Gattaca") hopefully isn't trying to be subtle. He's trying to evoke outrage and frustration and shock, all understandable reactions to this movie. Unfortunately, the reaction to its somewhat flat characters and predictable story is far less impassioned.
You have to respect "Lord of War" for throwing tough facts in the face of moviegoers. But you also have to wish it had done so a bit more artfully. This is a movie that shows us the monster, but it doesn't put us inside the monster. And we have to understand the monster to defeat it.
You can reach Tom Long at (313) 222-8879 or tlong@detnews.com.
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