Thursday, September 13, 2007

Lord of War movie review

The movie I saw last night is the Lord of War staring Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke & Bridget Moynahan. The movie is based on actual events, which I was not aware of until after the movie. Nicolas Cage plays Uri Orlov a Ukrainian born immigrant living in Brooklyn in the early 1980s. He is not sure what he wants to do with his life and instead of going to school and getting a job he decides to become a black-market arms dealer. Jared Leto plays the younger brother who helps Uri in the beginning but a nasty cocaine habit prevents him from continuing in the family business. Uri starts small just selling to local rebels but eventually becomes a top dealer with the fall of the Soviet Union. His Ukrainian roots allow him to be the first to sell off the stockpile of Soviet weapons. His best client, the dictator of war-torn African nation, Liberia. Uri and the dictator become BFFs and Uri gets involved over his head. His wife Bridget Moynahan wants him to leave the business and Uri actually goes legit for about six months. Ethan Hawke is also thrown into the movie on the occasion as a do-gooder Interpol agent who cannot be bought. He brings havoc to Uri but never catches him red-handed.

I actually enjoyed the movie; I was worried at the beginning because in my history Nicolas Cage’s movies are either really good or really bad. It wasn’t the worst Nicolas Cage movie but it certainly wasn’t the best. Nicolas Cage has a tendency to overact but Jared Leto is in his element as the coked up brother (because isn’t he coked up all the time)? Ethan Hawke’s character was annoying but I guess you needed that balance of good and evil. I give this movie 6 out of 10.

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