Kiwi filmmaker Andrew Niccol has had bad luck with marketing. The trailers for the The Truman Show, which he wrote, explicitly gave away the twist that made the movie worth watching (as an exercise in mounting paranoia, much of the tension is lost if the audience already knows what’s going on.) The campaign for his latest film, The Lord Of War (which he wrote and directed,) make the movie out to be a banal action thriller. It isn’t. What it is instead is a sharply observed, deeply political, gut wrenching exploration of the world of one particular breed of bottom feeders who cynically exploit the many for their own financial gain: arms dealers.

Nicholas Cage can be overbearing, but in this movie he plays the role perfectly. His character lacks much of a conscience from the start, but as the movie progresses and the blood rises around him, the death of his soul is portrayed almost visibly. Ethan Hawke plays the primary antagonist, a dedicated Interpol agent who is determined to bring Cage down. Ian Holm supports as a rival arms dealer, a member of the old guard who is bewildered by the chaotic new world following the end of the cold war.

If the marketing were to be followed to its logical conclusion, one might expect the climax of the movie to follow Cage dodging bullets and eluding police in a high speed chase. Instead, it is delivered via a short but impassioned monologue by Cage - it’s a breath taker.

Do not miss this film.

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