Lord of War
Okay, so I'm not a Nic Cage fan. In fact, I can't think of a single film even in my Top 50 with him in it. (Fast Times doesn't count, because he doesn't even have a line.) And before anyone tries to argue- I thought that Leaving Las Vegas was completely self-indulgent and depressing.
This movie was a pretty good story, but I still don't understand the appeal behind Cage. Perhaps, I never will. Basically I saw him doing the same thing he always does. There's no fantastic stretch in his acting and I rarely see him try to do anything differently. Most of the films he is in only survive because of the supporting cast- like Chris Cooper in Adaptation. This one survived because of Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, and Oz's Eamonn Walker (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0907708/), who was the best one in this film.
In this movie Leto and Hawke followed Cage's example of using the same character as another film. (Although specifically in Cage's case, it's the same character as EVERY other film he's ever made.) Jared Leto basically reprised his role from Requiem for a Dream, but with half the passion and half the screentime. I guess he has been too focused on his barely-existent singing career. Nevertheless, he's still got those eyes... (Which brings me to something I've been thinking about since seeing that special on VH1 about teen superstars- how about a "My So-Called Life" reunion? Wouldn't that be fantastic???)
Ethan Hawke basically reprised his role from Training Day, which was a fantastic movie, but I guess I expected more from Hawke in this film. I KNOW he's a better actor than Cage. I really like Hawke. He can do romance (Before Sunrise), tragedy (Great Expectations), comedy (Reality Bites), action (Training Day)... you name it- he can do it. I guess his role just wasn't the meat-and-potatoes role that he needed to anchor this movie.
The scene where Hawke and Cage are seated in the desert talking seemed to pay tribute to the scene where Pacino and DeNiro have coffee in Heat... but I'm sorry; Cage is NO DeNiro and Hawke is no Pacino. It was a nice tribute but, ultimately, it fell short.
Even though the acting was mediocre, it was still a good movie and it was interesting to see the arms dealers' struggle throughout different times in history (at least the history that I can remember) like the Cold War, Bosnia, Iraq/Iran, etc. Of course, there was the political agenda again, at the end stating the fact that the US is one of the largest arms dealers in the world. However, I was able to overlook the political cause, because the film itself didn't really speak to me; so why should it's cause?
It was okay; it had good popcorn value. It's not going to make you stand up and want to make a difference. It's a film that will fill your time, but not your heart.
This movie was a pretty good story, but I still don't understand the appeal behind Cage. Perhaps, I never will. Basically I saw him doing the same thing he always does. There's no fantastic stretch in his acting and I rarely see him try to do anything differently. Most of the films he is in only survive because of the supporting cast- like Chris Cooper in Adaptation. This one survived because of Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, and Oz's Eamonn Walker (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0907708/), who was the best one in this film.
In this movie Leto and Hawke followed Cage's example of using the same character as another film. (Although specifically in Cage's case, it's the same character as EVERY other film he's ever made.) Jared Leto basically reprised his role from Requiem for a Dream, but with half the passion and half the screentime. I guess he has been too focused on his barely-existent singing career. Nevertheless, he's still got those eyes... (Which brings me to something I've been thinking about since seeing that special on VH1 about teen superstars- how about a "My So-Called Life" reunion? Wouldn't that be fantastic???)
Ethan Hawke basically reprised his role from Training Day, which was a fantastic movie, but I guess I expected more from Hawke in this film. I KNOW he's a better actor than Cage. I really like Hawke. He can do romance (Before Sunrise), tragedy (Great Expectations), comedy (Reality Bites), action (Training Day)... you name it- he can do it. I guess his role just wasn't the meat-and-potatoes role that he needed to anchor this movie.
The scene where Hawke and Cage are seated in the desert talking seemed to pay tribute to the scene where Pacino and DeNiro have coffee in Heat... but I'm sorry; Cage is NO DeNiro and Hawke is no Pacino. It was a nice tribute but, ultimately, it fell short.
Even though the acting was mediocre, it was still a good movie and it was interesting to see the arms dealers' struggle throughout different times in history (at least the history that I can remember) like the Cold War, Bosnia, Iraq/Iran, etc. Of course, there was the political agenda again, at the end stating the fact that the US is one of the largest arms dealers in the world. However, I was able to overlook the political cause, because the film itself didn't really speak to me; so why should it's cause?
It was okay; it had good popcorn value. It's not going to make you stand up and want to make a difference. It's a film that will fill your time, but not your heart.
posted by Susan at
6/29/2006
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