Review of Lord of War (2005) by Allan S — 16 Sep 2009

A lifeless satire on gun-trade, helped mostly by a good ending and hurt by sub-par acting. Nicolas Cage is awful; as an actor, he seems confused as to what he's supposed to be doing, and this role is no exception.

He goes through the motions but with no realization of the part, and midway through the film I grew so tired of him I almost quit. Jared Leto turns in an even more embarassing performance, one that's loud and aimless.

I suppose Ethan Hawke out-acted the two of them, but his job was made easy by the other two and probably wouldn't hold up to real acting anyway. Fortunately the story goes through a few interesting points, and the satirical humor almost makes a solid point.

Still, the cons outweigh the pros here and make for a generally unpleasant viewing experience.