Review of Lord of War (2005) by Cameron J — 27 Jul 2012

Hm, I tell you guys, I was definately not expecting this from the crossover of "The Lord of the Rings" and "World of Warcraft"... or "God of War" or whatever you kids are playing nowadays. No wait, sorry, this isn't the ultimate nerd crossover, it's just a dramatic study on illegal arms trafficking. Well, in all fairness, this film is written and directed by Andrew Niccol, so it's not much more far-fetched than a fantasy film. No, this film is actually grounded, or at least about as grounded as Andrew Niccol will let it be. Besides, at least Niccol's not-so subtle taste isn't as far-fetched as Nicholas Cage's hair(pieces) in recent years, which I suppose makes Jared Leto perfect to play Cage's brother, seeing as how he'll sometimes don a dew that makes him look ridiculous... or androgynous, though I suppose that's what you do when you're in a lame alternative rock band. 30 Seconds to Mars stinks, not unlike most every other rock band that was introduced after the '80s, which is another reason why Jared Leto needs to take a break from his "music" and hurry his scrawny white butt back to the film industry, and the fact that he's such an awesome actor is enough of a reason why he needs to come back. Still, as show-stealing as Leto is in, well, plenty of films, like this one, he's typically not the only reason why we're left with a good film, like this one, which isn't to say that there aren't still plenty of strikes against good films, particularly this one.

I joke about the film's being about as down-to-earth as Andrew Niccol will allow it to be, but really, this film rarely, if ever descends into that common Niccol misstep of stepping too far over the line of reasonability. However, your awareness of this film's relative lack of that common Niccol flaw of far-fetched moments goes a tad obscured by Niccol's collapses into another common flaw, of being a touch too ironic, if not all-out satirical, rarely to the point of rendering the film unsubtle or over-the-top, yet still to the point where substance goes diluted by the film's undeniable degree of overbearingness in thematic play, thus leaving the film's objective of effectiveness to lose a bit of bite. This flaw hurts the film's impact, both as a message and story, though may be matched, if not surpassed in being detrimental by the faults Niccol's storytelling, for although he gets the story by eventually, Niccol doesn't get the story by without hitting more than a few bumps in the road. Though its story is perhaps more elaborate that you would expect, a two-hour runtime seems both just loose enough and tight enough for this film to get everything over and done with comfortably, yet when it finally comes down to execution, Niccol trips up, not so much in his written structure of the story, but in his bringing the story structure to life. Niccol, as director, meditates too extensively and too thoroughly on certain story aspects, and after a while, the film's resonance loses a bit of kick, which is a situation exacerbated when the film actually does finally get around to making transitions in focus and tone, as there's not enough comfort in the film's flow for the layers to come off all that organic, thus leaving to feel a smidge hurried and even rather uneven, or as the consensus put it, "scattershot" (I get the somewhat cheesy gun pun (Ha-ha, I rhymed), it's just that the word also happened to fit). The film's story is worthy, and lord knows its subject matter is, yet the film feels rather messy in its focus, and focuses too thoroughly on what it does focus upon, thus making for a film that just doesn't land as hard of a hard as it should. However, it's not at all like this film is a misfire, for although its shots are limited, it hits more than it misses, and just enough for the film to ultimately leave an impact, and do so in one of the best ways you can think of: while looking good.

Andrew Niccol takes a break from Roger Deakins and brings Amir Mokri on as cinematographer, yet the result leaves this film to look as good, if not better than your typical Andrew Niccol film, as the photography is slick in staging and attractively gritty in lighting and color, thus supplementing the film's livliness, which goes further intensified by the film's imperfect yet mostly pretty sharp soundtrack. Still, as we've definately learned from the many good-looking Michael Bay films Mokri also worked on, style isn't enough to get a film by completely, which is why Andrew Niccol makes sure that he also hits on a substance level, or at least on paper, for although Niccol, as a writer, is typically flawed, and sometimes glaringly so, I feel that he is generally a better writer than plenty of people - including myself sometimes - give him credit for, and although this film isn't quite as inventive as other written efforts by Niccol, the screenplay generally reminds me of Niccol's competence as a writer, because although direction of the story is pretty messy, the conceptual story structure and play on themes seem to be fairly tight and intelligent, enough so that there are points where that comes across clear as day amidst the messiness of the film's storytelling, while dialogue that ranges from often respectable to just as often actually pretty fantastic breathes further life into Niccol's vision, as this film's strong writer. Still, it's not like Niccol is an absolute mess when it comes to directing, for although his flawed executions greatly betray the quality of his own script, the inspiration and ambition that he typically boasts when directing is as palpable as always, thus giving this film a consistent charm to keep you going until we eventually hit occasional points in which Niccol really does step up as director and delivers on tension, intrige, livliness, resonance and overall effectiveness, particularly during the slow, but piercing final act. Niccol stands to hit much harder in execution, yet he still hits as well as ever has as filmmaker, giving the film enough kick to stand as genuinely good and ultimately rewarding, and thanks to the help of the strong script, generally thought-provoking subject matter and, of course, the performances. He's unexpectedly underused, but make no mistake, Jared Leto steals the show, nailing the essence of the uncomfortable yet competent and loyal younger brother figure with a very human presence, while just plain knocking it out of the park as an extreme addict and self-destructive debauchee, delivering on sometimes heartbreaking authenticity and emotional intensity in his portrayal of a man trapped by addiction, as well as his ambition. Still, as much as Leto steals the show for the limited time he's on with what is quite easily the single best performance of the film, you better believe that leading man Nicholas Cage holds his own. Sure, Nicholas Cage is playing Nicholas Cage with profound faithfulness, yet it's a character whose almost always effective, and is just that here, as Cage bursts with his trademark smooth yet occasionally energetic leading man charisma that wins you over, while moderate yet noticable moments of depth - especially during the aforementioned piercing final act, during which Cage really steps up with surprising power - add an extra kick to the Yuri Orlov character's being a genuinely compelling lead character, even if he is the same one we've seen Nick Cage portray to death, as he is just one of the many reasons why this film ultimately pulls through its missteps to deliver more often than not.

To wrap things up, Andrew Niccol's occasional overbearing irony throws off the film's resonance and impact, though not nearly as much as Niccol's messy storytelling, which leaves the film to meditate much too long on certain story aspects and not meditate long enough on steadying transitions, thus tainting the film with a kind of unevenness and progression messiness that ultimately leaves it to fall a bit short in some spots, yet with fine cinematography and a strong soundtrack attracting both your eyes and ears, as well as Niccol's strong and often snappy screenplay - brought to life by his consistently charming and occasionally effective direction, as well as a myriad of engaging the performances, the most engaging of which being by the show-stealingly powerful Jared Leto and, as always, sparklingly charismatic Nicholas Cage -, "Lord of War" ultimately emerges as a thoroughly entertaining, consistently intelligent, often gripping, sometimes provocative and ultimately rewarding study on the personal and business lives of the illegal arm dealers who provide the tools of warfare.

3/5 - Good.