Arsenal

"Someone once asked me why I stick up for Mikey. They clearly don't have a brother." JP (Grenier) has always looked up to his older brother Mikey (Schaech). As adults JP is the one that is supporting and trying to help Mikey anyway he can. Mickey finds himself in trouble once again and goes to a mob boss for help. After receiving a phone call JP once again is in a position where Mickey needs his help, but this time is different. First of all, this movie is not bad at all. It is a decent B movie. On the other hand, it is extremely generic and I'm sure even just reading my synopsis of the movie you can predict everything that is going to happen and how it will turn out. John Cusack is in this for about 2 minutes and his character is pretty useless. Cage is, as usual, over the top and I'm not really sure what he was going for with his acting in this. All that said, most people that watch movies like this watch for the action and not the acting or story that much. If you are one of those people you will enjoy this. Overall, generic and predictable. A really good made-for-TV type movie that is nothing to rush out and see. I give this a C.

Nicolas Cage portrays another over-the-top cartoonish character here, as he plays Eddie King, a sadistic and psycho mob boss who talks like he's always constipated and sports a horrific looking hairpiece. He decides to kidnap the screw- up brother (Johnathon Schaech) and extort his straight arrow successful brother (Adrian Grenier) for 350K.

Often in the film, there's extreme brutal bloody violence, sometimes in slo-mo, and, as expected, lots of explicit language and on screen drug use. The movie is directed by Steven C. Miller with a first-time screenplay from Jason Mosberg.

Overall, unless you like intense bloody violence or wants to laugh at Cage's character here, I don't really see the point in one viewing this flick.

Not sure who thought Adrian Grenier was a good lead in an actioner but he kinda seemed out of place in his role. Not to say he is a bad actor but he didn't fit the role here. The best role and acting in the movie belongs to Johnathon Schaech. He might have played a supporting role but his character had the character development and emotional layers to it. They could have just focused the story on his and Nicolas Cage's character. And coming to Nicolas Cage, say what u want about the man but he still really do a great job in whatever role he takes up. This movie may not be up to his standards as an actor but he played the role the second time in the best way possible. Of course,when he did this role the 1st time,he had more screen time and more craziness to his character. Here,it's toned down a little. I would say that's a mistake on the director and screen writer's part because Nicolas Cage is easily the selling factor of the movie and why would you limit his screen time and the amount of crazy acting he could deliver? Still,Nicolas Cage did a great job and the movie is easily worth watching for him but i do wish he takes less roles like this and returns to serious,award worthy roles and movies. He has the talent and would be such a waste to be a regular in movies like this. The movie itself wasn't a terrible one and at the same time,isn't anything to rush out and watch. Too average and doesn't have any factor that puts it different from other DTV movies except for the presence of Nicolas Cage. It's nice to watch once but that's it.

"Oh, you think we're even you and I? I know of way we can both earn what we deserve."

Nicolas Cage is known for his wayward choice in terms of films recent years. His career had some ups and downs. As a result, the opinions on his acting talent in the world of film lovers are rather divided. His performance as Eddie King, a manic, coke-snorting, aggressive underworld figure, who's also not afraid to handle opponents in a rough and cruel way, is an exceptional case. At first sight it isn't a thunderous acting performance that he delivers and it tends to be rather ridiculous. A kind of cartoonish character whose tantrums and neurotic behavior comes across as exaggerated. At first glance he looks like a parody of Tony Clifton (an Andy Kaufman impersonation) with a weird wig, a walrus-like mustache and glued on fake nose. Let him wear some over-sized sunglasses on his fake nose and you'd swear it's Roy Orbinson. But at the same time I thought he was incomparable. In other words, it's hard to define Cage's acting as being woefully bad or masterfully brilliant.

Unfortunately this isn't sufficient enough to assess "Arsenal" as an excellent film. The story on its own isn't really brilliant or innovative. To be honest it's mostly boring and meaningless. The main characters who actually carry the entire film, with Cage in the background acting as an accessory to flare up the tension with bloody and highly aggressive scenes in slow motion, are JP (Adrian Grenier) and Mikey (Johnathon Schaech). The beginning shows how the two experienced their childhood. A not so rosy picture of two future-less teenagers who spend their time hanging around in an arcade, because it isn't so pleasant to be at home. One day Mikey comes home and makes a shocking discovery. That's a crucial moment. From there on their path go into opposite directions. As you can witness when they are adults. JP is the person who walked the honest path. He's the owner of a successful construction company. Mikey on the other hand, has chosen the side of Eddie King and ends up as a small-time gangster. After being robbed and losing a package of valuable drugs and not being able to pay of the money he owns Eddie, the latter has this masterful plan to arrange the matter. Now the truly honest brother must pull out all the stops to save Mikey. And that's what this movie is all about.

The whole movie revolves around the loyalty between the two brothers. Even if Mikey is a loser whose life is a concatenation of making wrong decisions and crime, yet JP remains faithful to him and he does his utmost to free him. And this with the help of Sal, a sort of undercover agent played by John Cusack who's wearing a bandanna and holding an e-cigarette. The only purpose he has is to provide JP the necessary clues so he can track down those who are responsible. Trust me, it sounds more fascinating than it looks. The initiative to fill the film with bloody, raw violent scenes with lot of blood flowing freely out of inflicted injuries from the victims, won't ensure that "Arsenal" rises to an acceptable level. And may I also inform the sports fans for a moment? There's a lot of kicking around, but the film has nothing to do with the famous soccer team.

Ultimately, "Arsenal" didn't become the thriller it intended to be. The story was too simplistic, the violence too excessive and the characters too one-sided and uninspired. Strange but true, the only bright spot in this film is the exorbitant and crazy role played by Cage. Normally, the failure of a film is mostly due to the failure of Cage's contribution. "Arsenal" is in my opinion a low-budget movie with kinda sounding names participating in it. Yet another proof that this isn't a guarantee to get an excellent end result. Finally, the most striking fact I saw in this film. Despite 23 years passed and the two brothers grew into adult men with graying hair and beard, Eddie King still had the same appearance. Apparently sniffing hallucinogenic drugs has a preservative effect.

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This is a very good action movie, love the slow mo make all the shootings look sick. Really enjoyed this 🙂