Lord of War and History of Violence
Lord of War
Nic Cage is a fine actor. I have liked a good amount of his films, some JUST for his performance. He CAN carry a movie if the part is quirky enough. Sure, I was scared when he tried to become Superman (stupid Tim Burton!) but that never happened so it’s cool. I was worried when he tried action with Face/Off, Rock and Con-Air but enjoyed them well enough to have seen them more than once and not hated it. Hell, I’m more hard pressed to think of a role of his I absolutely HATED than one enjoyed.
Ok, maybe Moonstruck but that just wasn’t my kind of film.
All that being said, he is amazing in this film. Truly. It was enthralling to watch his character and character arc on screen. You can actually SEE him go thru the changes he is supposed to be going thru and that takes craft and talent! And when he is on screen with the "main" warlord (the one who actually SAYS "Lord of War"), well, those are prime and pure examples of ACTING. Some amazing shots and some great supporting turns by Ian Holm and Ethan Hawke are worth noting… along with some bit players who were all TOO bit.
So what was wrong? 4 words in sets of two: Too Long and Jared Leto.
Too long cause it runs right over two hours and you can FEEL that at times. See, I don’t mind long movies. Schinlder’s List is a personal fave of mine. So are the Harry Potter movies and the first Lord of theRings. But THOSE don’t FEEL too long. Some even feel too SHORT. When you notice how long the movie is, it’s too long. It means the film is losing you and that is a BAD thing. I allow for the fact that it came AFTER Serenity in a double feature, a two hour movie that feels too short but more on that later. I allow that is more of a drama and we were watching it REALLY late at night after a long day. But it still came off as about 15 minutes too long. Why 15 minutes? Cause that would account for the bulk of the Jared Leto plotline.
I don’t hate Leto. He was fine in Fight Club and a few other parts. But he’s just too much of a pretty boy for this role. And come on, they show Cage. They show their parents. And we are supposed to believe that somehow… SOMEHOW Jared Leto is his BROTHER??!?! WTF? Didn’t buy it from a purely physical pov.. but they do ACT like brothers so I let it go. But at no point in the film is there ever any doubt as to what will happen to the Leto character. He plays the fall into his own personal hell and insanity VERY well… so I wouldn’t cut him out entirely but so much of it is the same type of scene OVER and OVER that you don’t need many of them. We get it… he’s hooked on coke and going thru an endless parade of meaningless sexual relationships trying to forget what he has seen. We get that after the first time they explain it to us (never say it outright but it still comes thru loud and clear). We just don’t need the other 15 minutes of the downward spiral bits.
So is it any good? Sure. It’s a good movie and deserves money and recognition. If nothing else out there catches your eye… OR you feel like seeing Flightplan (DEAR GOD, WHY!?!?!), and have already seen Serenity, go see this one.
History of Violence
Now THIS is more like it. The thing clocks in at 90 minutes. Is it too short? Nope. Too long? Not at all. The director, Cronenberg, gets in, tells the story and gets out. No scene is wasted and no part is unimportant. He tells the story of a simple diner owner and his family. One day these two REALLY bad men come to town and cause a ruckus that makes him have to take action.
And WOW! WHAT ACTION! The violence in the movie IS extreme. It IS sudden and over VERY fast. This isn’t a John Woo or Van Damme flick where we see the action in slow motion so we can appreciate the violence. It’s done with such brutality and quickness that you are left wondering what the hell just happened just like the characters are. And no act of violence goes by without seeing repercussions. We see the impact of the violence or at least hear about it. We know what it does to a person and why they still feel they can't escape it. And we go thru their lives and see why they don’t WANT violence and we see how it can damage even the strongest relationship.
It is intense.
Even the quiet moments are intense. The sex scenes are intense, the violence, the gunfights, the brawls, the fights between parent and child, husband and wife, and within the characters, themselves, are all played with an intensity that catches some off-guard.
I never got around to reading the Graphic Novel it’s based on but I know they took some freedoms with the material, which is fine. I cannot stress this enough, though: the violence IS graphic (no pun intended) and the effects are gory. There IS blood and other chunks o’ person going all over the place. BUT if you’re going in for THAT reason, you will be disappointed. The fights do not take up a lot of time in the movie. They are amazingly done and shot but not the point of the picture. And if you JUST want a serious drama, the violence will get to you. As will a rather graphic sex scene and one almost as much.
Go see this one for some amazing performances from Ed Harris, Maria Bello (the most gorgeous woman over 30 around), William Hurt (yes, William Hurt) and, of course, Viggo. Good god, Viggo! That man is showing what he can do in this movie better than all THREE LOTR movies. Only one movie tops this one as a pick from me. Serenity.
Nic Cage is a fine actor. I have liked a good amount of his films, some JUST for his performance. He CAN carry a movie if the part is quirky enough. Sure, I was scared when he tried to become Superman (stupid Tim Burton!) but that never happened so it’s cool. I was worried when he tried action with Face/Off, Rock and Con-Air but enjoyed them well enough to have seen them more than once and not hated it. Hell, I’m more hard pressed to think of a role of his I absolutely HATED than one enjoyed.
Ok, maybe Moonstruck but that just wasn’t my kind of film.
All that being said, he is amazing in this film. Truly. It was enthralling to watch his character and character arc on screen. You can actually SEE him go thru the changes he is supposed to be going thru and that takes craft and talent! And when he is on screen with the "main" warlord (the one who actually SAYS "Lord of War"), well, those are prime and pure examples of ACTING. Some amazing shots and some great supporting turns by Ian Holm and Ethan Hawke are worth noting… along with some bit players who were all TOO bit.
So what was wrong? 4 words in sets of two: Too Long and Jared Leto.
Too long cause it runs right over two hours and you can FEEL that at times. See, I don’t mind long movies. Schinlder’s List is a personal fave of mine. So are the Harry Potter movies and the first Lord of theRings. But THOSE don’t FEEL too long. Some even feel too SHORT. When you notice how long the movie is, it’s too long. It means the film is losing you and that is a BAD thing. I allow for the fact that it came AFTER Serenity in a double feature, a two hour movie that feels too short but more on that later. I allow that is more of a drama and we were watching it REALLY late at night after a long day. But it still came off as about 15 minutes too long. Why 15 minutes? Cause that would account for the bulk of the Jared Leto plotline.
I don’t hate Leto. He was fine in Fight Club and a few other parts. But he’s just too much of a pretty boy for this role. And come on, they show Cage. They show their parents. And we are supposed to believe that somehow… SOMEHOW Jared Leto is his BROTHER??!?! WTF? Didn’t buy it from a purely physical pov.. but they do ACT like brothers so I let it go. But at no point in the film is there ever any doubt as to what will happen to the Leto character. He plays the fall into his own personal hell and insanity VERY well… so I wouldn’t cut him out entirely but so much of it is the same type of scene OVER and OVER that you don’t need many of them. We get it… he’s hooked on coke and going thru an endless parade of meaningless sexual relationships trying to forget what he has seen. We get that after the first time they explain it to us (never say it outright but it still comes thru loud and clear). We just don’t need the other 15 minutes of the downward spiral bits.
So is it any good? Sure. It’s a good movie and deserves money and recognition. If nothing else out there catches your eye… OR you feel like seeing Flightplan (DEAR GOD, WHY!?!?!), and have already seen Serenity, go see this one.
History of Violence
Now THIS is more like it. The thing clocks in at 90 minutes. Is it too short? Nope. Too long? Not at all. The director, Cronenberg, gets in, tells the story and gets out. No scene is wasted and no part is unimportant. He tells the story of a simple diner owner and his family. One day these two REALLY bad men come to town and cause a ruckus that makes him have to take action.
And WOW! WHAT ACTION! The violence in the movie IS extreme. It IS sudden and over VERY fast. This isn’t a John Woo or Van Damme flick where we see the action in slow motion so we can appreciate the violence. It’s done with such brutality and quickness that you are left wondering what the hell just happened just like the characters are. And no act of violence goes by without seeing repercussions. We see the impact of the violence or at least hear about it. We know what it does to a person and why they still feel they can't escape it. And we go thru their lives and see why they don’t WANT violence and we see how it can damage even the strongest relationship.
It is intense.
Even the quiet moments are intense. The sex scenes are intense, the violence, the gunfights, the brawls, the fights between parent and child, husband and wife, and within the characters, themselves, are all played with an intensity that catches some off-guard.
I never got around to reading the Graphic Novel it’s based on but I know they took some freedoms with the material, which is fine. I cannot stress this enough, though: the violence IS graphic (no pun intended) and the effects are gory. There IS blood and other chunks o’ person going all over the place. BUT if you’re going in for THAT reason, you will be disappointed. The fights do not take up a lot of time in the movie. They are amazingly done and shot but not the point of the picture. And if you JUST want a serious drama, the violence will get to you. As will a rather graphic sex scene and one almost as much.
Go see this one for some amazing performances from Ed Harris, Maria Bello (the most gorgeous woman over 30 around), William Hurt (yes, William Hurt) and, of course, Viggo. Good god, Viggo! That man is showing what he can do in this movie better than all THREE LOTR movies. Only one movie tops this one as a pick from me. Serenity.
posted by wmjwatson at 11:48 AM
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