Movie Loner

Back in 1997 Writer/Director Andrew Niccol created one of the best sci-fi movies I’ve ever seen. That movie was Gattaca, a masterful and prescient glimpse into a future controlled by genetics. It showed a world where perfect humans were manufactured prior to conception and those unfortunate enough to be conceived without science were deemed “Invalid”. The following year Niccol penned The Truman Show then he pulled a Keyser Soze and disappeared. He resurfaced in 2002 with the forgettable S1m0ne but would redeem himself three years later with this overlooked gem, Lord of War.

Nicolas Cage plays Yuri Orlov, a Russian immigrant growing up in the Little Odessa enclave of Brooklyn. In the early 80s Yuri decides that the gun trade will be his profession of choice. He cuts his teeth selling to local mobsters before taking his business overseas. Partnering up with his brother Vitaly, Yuri spans the globe becoming a major player in the international arms dealing game. Money and power boost Yuri’s confidence, so much so that he pursues his dream woman, a famous model named Ava (Bridget Moynahan). A successful courtship leads to marriage, landing Yuri on top of the world.

The fall of the Soviet Union proves fruitful for Yuri as one of the world’s largest weapon caches is at his disposal. A growing reputation comes with a price. Yuri makes enemies with a competing dealer named Simeon who doesn’t take kindly to losing customers. Personal problems also rear their heads. Vitaly becomes a cokehead and leaves the business. Ava grows suspicious of Yuri’s time away. A dogged FBI agent named Jack Valentine vows to take Yuri down. Yuri seems impervious to danger and raises his cred by building a profitable relationship with a lunatic African warlord. However, the walls soon close in on Yuri and everything in his life begins to crumble.

I find it disconcerting that socially relevant, albeit simplified, films are largely ignored. Lord of War acts as a step-by-step manual on how third world countries acquire weapons. Africa and South America don’t manufacture guns, the United States and Russia do. How these armaments end up in the hands of warring factions is both fascinating and unsettling. Cage, who has been wildly inconsistent since winning an Oscar in Leaving Las Vegas, is quite good playing a man skilled at his job with questionable morals. Yuri justifies his actions at every turn and never allows guilt to raid his conscience. Looking for a nice sleeper movie? Check out Lord of War.

The trailer for Lord of War: