Science-fiction visionary Andrew Niccol, whose past work includes writing and directing the underrated Gattaca and Simone, and writing The Truman Show, turns his eye to the present with his cynical gun-running drama Lord of War. Although Niccol has an uncanny sense for trend-spotting (he was ahead of the curve on reality TV, genetic engineering and celebrity-obsessed culture), he stumbles a little when he confines himself to the here and now. Lord of War is alternately fascinating and frustrating, but it might have worked a whole lot better with laser guns rather than Uzis.
Nicolas Cage plays Yuri Orlov, the son of Ukrainian immigrants in Brooklyn. He dreams of getting out of his crime-ridden neighborhood and sees an opportunity in a crime-supporting industry: guns. Starting small and working his way up, Yuri, along with his brother and partner-in-crime Vitaly (Jared Leto), soon becomes one of the world's top illegal arms dealers, selling to Third World dictators, terrorists and guerilla groups, all without giving a second thought to the morality of it all. Unlike his chief rival (Ian Holm), Yuri doesn't care what side of a conflict he's providing arms to; he'll happily supply both sides if the price is right.
Niccol follows Yuri over the course of 20 years, during which time he marries a supermodel (Bridget Moynahan), is doggedly pursued by a scrupulous Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke) and is forced to go solo when Vitaly develops a serious cocaine habit. The film jumps from year to year and country to country at a sometimes breakneck pace, all tied together by Cage's detached, sardonic narration. Yuri is amoral but charming, and his darkly comic observations about the realities of the arms trade are entertaining but sometimes overbearing. Used sparingly, voice-overs can propel a story, but Lord of War is a nonstop talk-fest, and it gets tiresome after a while.
Niccol's story is also unfocused, and he relies on the narration to smooth some of the jarring transitions. Although the overall arc is your standard rise-and-fall, there are so many digressions and jumps in time that it's often hard to get a handle on the characters. When Niccol allows the movie to stop and breathe for a while, though, it's often powerful, most particularly toward the end as Yuri's life begins to fall apart. Niccol's directorial style is also eye-catching, especially the extended opening sequence following the life of a bullet from its manufacture to its eventual lodging in a poor African kid's skull.
Lord of War's politics are obvious but refreshing; both Yuri and the film view violence as an inevitable part of human existence, and while Yuri comes to understand the inherent evil of his profession, that doesn't mean he gives it up. Ultimately the film's biggest problem is that it's more of a dissertation than a story, and all of its flashy visuals and clever insights about the gun trade pale in comparison to a single scene of Yuri's wife confronting him with the fact that his entire personal life has been one big lie.