LaFountaine

“Lord of War” Movie

Yesterday I saw the movie “Lord of War”, which starred: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ian Holm and Eamonn Walker.

The plot involved the following: “Still living with his immigrant family in Brighton Beach, Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) has had enough--the family restaurant has no customers, his cook brother Vitaly (Jared Leto) can't cook and his mother nags his devout Jewish father who is anything but Jewish. So instead of getting sucked into a go-nowhere life, Yuri naturally gets into arms dealing. After selling a local hood an Uzi, Yuri discovers that he might actually have the knack. He recruits his younger brother--more for moral support than business acumen--and begins to soar up the arms dealing food chain, attaining wealth, luxury and an exciting lifestyle along the way. The only thing he lacks is his dream girl--Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), a Brighton Beach beauty queen-turned-supermodel. But Yuri finally wins her heart, too, by posing as a legitimate businessman with more money than he actually has. Ava senses he's not legit, but just as long as they have their penthouse overlooking Central Park and a chauffeured limo, she'd rather not know what he does. Meanwhile, Yuri's interests clash with his chief rival, Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm), an old-school gun runner, coming to terms with the end of the Cold War. Backed into a corner, Yuri is given a choice between continued competition or none at all, and his decision sends Yuri into a spiral of rapid moral decay despite ever-increasing profits. His greatest struggle through it all has been with himself. In the end, he learns to accept the Golden Rule of arms dealing: Never wage war with anybody, especially yourself.”

I give the movie a “B+”, and the movie is worth the price of an admission ticket, a large popcorn and a medium soft drink. I thought it was excellent movie with a story needing to be told. The movie provided few opportunities for fine acting performances, and the film became moralistic at the end of the movie.

posted by Frank LaFountaine @ 8:33 AM