Lord of War (15)

3:46pm Wednesday 12th October 2005

It's not just the stellar cast that makes this film about dangers of arms smuggling a sure-fire hit, but it certainly helps.

Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, Lord of War is based on the true story of Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), whose family emigrated from Ukraine to New York when he was a child and opened a restaurant.

Cage exudes gravitas as the disillusioned Yuri who decides to start smuggling arms something which, if the film is to be believed, is remarkably easy to do.

He enlists his more reticent younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), and seduces his childhood crush Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan) by pretending to be a wealthy businessman. They marry, have a child and she mostly turns a blind eye to how he funds their lavish lifestyle.

But gun-smuggling is not all plain-sailing. Yuri needs to outsmart Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), a moral Interpol agent out to trap him but who only does things by the book as well as his business rivals and his own unsavoury customers, who include some of the world's most notorious dictators.

As Yuri tells us in his deadpan way: "I didn't sell to Bin Laden. Not on any moral grounds, but because he was always bouncing cheques."

Rarely does a Hollywood film take on the hypocrisy and corruption endemic in Western governments, and the film explores the premise that my enemy's enemy is my friend'.

Despite an engaging plot, some issues remain unexplored why does Ava not ask her unfaithful and morally bankrupt husband more questions about his job until the second half of the film? And why, ultimately, does he not care about losing his entire family?

If you can ignore Yuri's frequent voiceovers in which he unconvincingly states his reasons and the fact that we know he will ultimately prevail, the film remains entertaining, reinforced by a witty script and fantastic soundtrack.

The film may be accused of preaching, and even of pandering to stereotypes, but it is still worth seeing.