◇ Story: A god-like arms dealer
And the protagonist of this story is Julie Olufo, an arms dealer who does business as a world traveler, played by Nicolas Cage. While traversing some deadly war zones, he is always able to get the munitions he needs before Eden Hawke's international police arrives, and not only some of his commercial rivals Clients, but also the world's most notorious dictator, and in the end, Julie had to face his own moral and conscience condemnation and reflection.
Born in Ukraine, Julie Oliver (Nicholas Cage) immigrated to the United States with his family when he was very young. In the restaurant opened by his parents, the young Julie met his dream lover Ava, although Ava didn't know it. his presence. Julie, who always wanted to stand out, accidentally observed a group of Russian criminal gangs committing crimes. Although he was discovered by the criminal gang, but luckily escaped the death threat, he decided to take a path that ordinary people would not consider - selling arms. Julie successfully persuaded his younger brother Vitaly, from finding arms dealers on street corners and selling weapons to some countries at war with their permission to after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, using extensive popularity and intelligence to bring Ukrainian intelligence. Selling a large number of idle weapons to divided African countries and their military liberation organizations made a fortune, although Juri is in danger every day and must always be ahead of his rival and international police Jack Valentina , but the incomparable wealth and success make Julie more and more satisfied.
And the rich man planned everything that he met with Ava, making her believe that the rich man was just an ordinary person in the transportation business. The two got married and had a lovely child. However, Julie, who is already crazy, is no longer satisfied with being with the person he loves and being an excellent family man. He thinks he is invincible in the world. where he held carnivals, no one could let him leave the arms sales business, because no one could be as successful as him, he became the basis of many warlords, dictators and tyrants...
◇ Highlights: Two strengths cat and mouse between pie
A little-known consequence of the Cold War is that the former Soviet Union left behind a large number of weapons when it developed military competition (especially in Africa), and arms dealers also gathered a lot of wealth while snatching and selling these weapons . Many people believe that this was the greatest period of robbery in the 20th century. In Ukraine alone, in the ten years from 1982 to 1992, arms worth more than $32 billion were stolen without anyone being held responsible and no arrests made. These realities are the basis for the seemingly nonsensical "Lord of War," which depicts the world of arms trading, but centers on Nicolas Cage's arms dealer and Ethan Hawke's tracker. In the thrilling cat-and-mouse "game" between Interpol, the strength of the two acting men collided, and the spark was obvious. And the director and screenwriter of "Lord of War" is Andrew Nicole, who has touched countless hearts with "The Crucible".
Of course, the most eye-catching one is Nicolas Cage, the personality actor who personally served as the producer. This superficially talkative arms dealer is actually based on the real stories of five arms dealers, full of original and real appeal. The role of Oluf, an outlaw who mingles between guns, wealth and women, is very important to Nicolas Cage. Said is a typical role to explore the dark side of human nature. This film, together with Cage's other new fall film, "Weather Man", which is known as a mixture of "About Schmidt" and "American Beauty", may be a perfect match for Cage, whose acting skills are already impeccable. Another chance for Oscar redemption. During the filming of the film, there was also a very interesting episode. Cage met Alice Kim, a 20-year-old Korean girl at the time, and held a wedding with her. The first scene when Cage returned to the studio after marriage was actually a wedding, which was an extreme coincidence.
◇ Comments: Large scale true brutal independent production
Reality is the biggest feature of "Lord of War". The seemingly crazy plot, but the details are absolutely derived from reality. Not only is the role of the protagonist, Julie Oliver, 100% drawn from a synthesis of 5 arms dealers, but all the stories in the film are also based on real experiences. Including military helicopters sold as emergency helicopters, arms dealers changing the names and registered companies of their ships off the high seas, arms dealers being released for certain undisclosed reasons, and ex-Soviet military weapons looted or stolen after the collapse of the Soviet regime Wait for the details to be true. It is no wonder that many people commented that the film should be made into a documentary. It was originally about the subject of arms dealers selling guns before the Iraq War. Maybe just like "Fahrenheit 9/11", it will set a new box office record for a documentary film!
Although "King of War" is an independent production, the joining of big names such as Nicolas Cage, the rationality of the film's story, and the good script of the film have made many foreign investors dare to take risks and throw a lot of dollars for the film. No wonder Cage himself said it might be the biggest independent film ever. Although the sensitive subject of arms dealers is rare in recent films, Cage's leadership, excellent script and direction, as well as the collision of stars in the film, make the film have a different kind of appeal.
The three film plans that were being prepared by the producer were stopped. The "Lord of War", which was originally expected to arrive on September 23, landed a week earlier at Cage's request. There is no doubt that the visual effects are extremely shocking. The description of the arms and weapons and the shooting of the war scenes are all in place. But what really caught everyone's eyes was the anti-hero Cage, whose outstanding acting skills and edge temperament gave him an unforgettable style in his first work this year.
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