Lord of War (2005)

Nicholas Cage stars as the gun-runner Yuri Orlov in the aptly titled Lord of War. He's a gun runner who calls the most despicalbe people on the planet "clients." He marries his life-long love, a former model who chooses not to know how Orlov makes his money.

The film also stars Ethan Hawke as Interpol Agent Jack Valentine, Bridget Moynahan as Cage's model/wife Ava Fontaine and Jared Lehto as Cage's brother Vitaly Orlov.

The film is interesting in the detailed ways Cage's character was able to follow the letter of the law to get away with breaking the laws, while Hawke's character refuses to break the law to arrest Cage... they are polar opposites of morality.

The film is enjoyable and educational in the way we follow Cage's character from his early beginnings to being king of illegal arms sales. Cage's character has to make some pretty drastic moral justifications to continue his work and continues selling arms, at the risk of losing everything, because "it's the only thing he's good at."

The overall effect of the film is disturbing, but not completely satisfying. Cage's character does very little growth in the story. From the time he begins selling Uzis to the time he's selling post-iron curtain Russian weaponry, his character remains relatively the same. Maybe that's the point. Maybe the point is that he's okay with his immorality and his role in the world. As a viewer, however, it makes the journey less satisfying.

I'm not saying he had to go through some moral awakening... I'm just saying that he should have changed in some way. When he doesn't, you're left asking "what was the point?"

A good film, but not a great one.