Failing on both fronts

An action adventure purporting to attack the amoral international arms dealers of the world has to be careful not to weaken its theme with spectacular nonsense. Andrew Niccol's movie falls into just that trap.

It's not exactly a cheap shot at those who sell arms to some of the most despicable regimes in the world. But it is simply not good enough to be taken seriously, either as a entertainment or polemic.

Russian-born American Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is our protagonist, described by the director as an amalgam of several well-known figures. Orlov says that if he didn't sell the weapons, others would. Besides, it's not his business what is done with them. Lying to the woman he marries (Bridget Moynahan), he is chased by Ethan Hawke's FBI agent, and makes a fortune until it all goes wrong.

Niccol's commercial instincts make the film far less weighty than it should have been, and his view of Africa and its savage dictators is basic in the extreme. He also asks Cage to make Orlov both plausible and likeable - a feat that, given the storyline, is well nigh impossible.

Still, there are some salient points made, such as the fact that in the Ukraine alone $32 billion of arms were stolen between 1982 and 1992 and that those notorious arms dealers illegally working with appalling regimes are not apprehended because Western governments find their work politically convenient.

You can either think it brave that an action movie says these things, or wonder why the subject matter isn't treated with more basic soberness of purpose. I hold to the latter view.

Lord Of War
Cert: cert15