Lord of War

This one has the makings of a decent movie. Actually, it has the makings of three or four different movies within. There’s too much going on in this Nicolas Cage vehicle, and the film ultimately lacks focus. The story follows Cage over the course of years—he is not convincing as a young adult, by the way—as he goes from being a small-time, black-market gun salesman to an arms dealer cashing in when the Soviet Union collapses. The opening credits, where we follow a bullet from production to somebody’s head, is remarkable. It’s also way too obvious in its depiction of Cage’s fall from grace, feeling like many movies before it. Cage is OK here, but the normally reliable Jared Leto is saddled in the stereotypical role of rebellious brother, and he simply overdoes it.