LORD OF WAR — ** — Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke; rated R (violence, profanity, drugs, gore, sex, brief partial nudity, ethnic slurs, vulgarity).
"Lord of War" isn't exactly subtle. There are times when this dark comic satire almost tops the documentaries of Michael Moore for sheer heavy-handedness.
The real pity is that the film could have made its points without being so insufferably preachy and ponderous. After all, it is supposedly based on a true story (not that that means much these days).
But screenwriter/director Andrew Niccol ("S1m0ne") is so determined to say something important that he winds up bludgeoning audiences into submission with his Moore-like observations about war, world politics and how the inhumanity of man affects both.
The title character is Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), a Ukrainian-born arms dealer living his version of the American Dream. Together with his substance-addicted younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), Yuri has profited from the end of the Cold War — by using his connections to sell off weapons that were stockpiled by the former Soviet Union. He's even managed to land the supermodel, Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), whom he's always lusted after.
So life is good.
Unfortunately, persistent Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) is determined to bust Yuri for his illegal arms deals, and his doggedness has prompted Ava to ask questions about the mysterious source of Yuri's wealth.
The film actually starts off well, with a stylish opening-credits sequence showing the production and eventual use of a bullet. But the whole thing drags to a screeching halt in the more dramatic second half, as Yuri experiences several moral and other personal dilemmas.
As for Cage, he's a surprisingly likable presence here, but he's stuck wearing an uncomfortable-looking hairpiece and never really seems too convincing as a Ukrainian. Neither does Leto, but at least his occasional attempts at an accent indicate that he's trying.
Still, the two of them don't flounder as badly as Moynahan, who only gets the model part of her performance right. And both Hawke and Ian Holm aren't really in the film enough to make much of an impression.
"Lord of War" is rated R for strong scenes of violence (including shootings and explosive mayhem), frequent use of strong sexual profanity, strong drug content (cocaine use and trade), some graphic gore, simulated sex, flashes of partial female nudity, use of some ethnic slurs and some sexually suggestive talk. Running time: 122 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com