IMDb plot summary: An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an Interpol agent.
Directed by Andrew Niccol. Starring Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, and Bridget Moynahan.
(Some nonspecific spoilers ahead about the ending.)
I didn't know much about this movie, except that it was written by Andrew Niccol. I'd been combining it in my mind with most other Nicolas Cage vehicles of the past 10-15 years and thought it was going to be a dumb thriller, but with Niccol at the helm I shouldn't have been surprised that it was much better than that. It's a crime drama that drew me into the story much more than I thought it would, although I suspect a large part of that is due to Jared Leto's compelling performance. The relationship between the two brothers and how it was influenced by Cage's character's job was fascinating to watch, even if it was a background subplot most of the time.
I was also impressed with the ending, which I felt was a consistent way to resolve (or not resolve) the story. Many crime dramas leave me feeling cheated out of a resolution, but here I felt like the way they wrapped it up made sense to me.
Overall, much better than I was anticipating, although certainly not spectacular.
2.5 stars.
Flickchart: #993 out of 2080, below White Nights and above Monsters University.
Buy a digital copy on Amazon.
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