Sadly Over-hyped

As Good As It Gets

A Masterpiece!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Director Stephen C. Miller's straight-to-video crime thriller "Arsenal" is a my-brother's-keeper saga. Miller and his company lensed this film on location in Biloxi, Mississippi, and it appears that they shot the whole thing there. The houses, the community, and the look of everything is so genuine that it couldn't have been faked. Miller doesn't rely on visual tricks, but instead he uses the actual locations. This 94-minute, R-rated, thriller shows why brothers for the most part stick together. The same cannot be said for the other pair of brothers, one of whom is played by Nicolas Cage. Apparently, Cage wanted to play a first-class low-life dastard. Wearing an obvious black mop of a wig, Cage has tried to disguise themselves with a Pinocchio-like nose. He plays the equivalent of Robert De Niro's Al Capone. In one scene, he shoves a length of pipe down a man's throat and then hammers it in the rest of the way with a baseball bat! He is a villain's villain, and Cage wallows in the unruliness of his wicked villainy to the point of overacting. This is Cage as you rarely get to see the Academy Award winning actor. Grenier plays the nice guy, little brother hero who spares nothing to save his big brother from his own self-destructive ways. Mikey (Johnathon Schaech of "The Legend of Hercules" and JP (Adrian Grenier of "Hart's War") grew up as big brother and little brother in Biloxi, Mississippi, and they led lives of miserable desperation. One of them relatives who took care of them decided to blast a crater in his face with a shotgun, and Mikey prevented JP from seeing the carnage by sending him off with a fistful of quarters to play video games at a nearby arcade. Mikey has spent his entire life looking out from his little brother. Sometimes, Mikey wasn't the nicest of big brothers, but he came through with his brother despite the circumstances. "Arsenal" chronicles their lives from tweeners to twentysomethings and beyond. JP has always treated his big brother with respect. Now that they have grown up, their fortunes are turned, and JP looks after is wayward brother. Mikey has gotten himself in deep trouble with a local crime magnate, Eddie King (Nicolas Cage of "The Rock"), who uses Mikey. Mikey finds himself in debt to Eddie, and Eddie wants Mikey to conspire with him to get $350-thousand dollars in ransom money from JP. You see, JP has been fortunate enough to start his own construction business, and he has become wealthy enough to marry and have a child. Meanwhile, Mikey has descended into oblivion, and he finds himself cooperating reluctantly with Eddie to stage a kidnapping to get JP's money. At the same time, JP mounts his own search from his big brother and relies of advice from a local Biloxi Police Department Detective, Sal (John Cusack of "Grosse Pointe Blank"), when he learns that Eddie has his brother. Moreover, Eddie has warned JP that he must not contact the authorities, or he will kick Mikey. Mind you, JP isn't the only guy into trouble up to his neck. As it turns out, Eddie has gone out-of-bounds with his kidnapping and ransom caper, and a member of the New Orleans' mob, his own brother Buddy King (Christopher Coppola of "Torch"), rolls into town to kill him. Buddy doesn't get away with killing Eddie, because Eddie turns the tables on Buddy and kills him! Later, Mikey escapes from Eddie, but he doesn't get far. This prompts sleazy Eddie into abducting Mikey's teenage daughter and making her a part of the kidnapping and ransom deal. Were this not enough to add to JP's problems, he discovers that his business manager has secretly gone behind his back and invested money into renovating houses to earn JP more money. Director Stephen C. Miller and freshman scriptwriter Jason Mossberg has fashioned a heartfelt saga about brothers helping themselves into a credible dramatic thriller that doesn't rely on exploitation elements. JP discovers something about himself that he had never realized. He doesn't shirk his responsibilities to Mikey and Mikey's dysfunctional family. Instead, he steps up to the plate and does the only thing that he knows in spite of the chance that he could die and leave his wife and daughter in jeopardy. Things start slowly, but the action picks up when Mikey reacquaints himself with Eddie King. Grenier makes a believable little brother who refuses to back down, while Johnathon Schaech is simply brilliant as the mischievous big brother.

Movies don't get much worse than this. Between Cage in a ludicrous wig or Grenier as a tough guy I don't know which is worse. Unintentionally funny,embarrassing for all involved. Cage is his scenery chewing self, and Grenier as unconvincing as always. There is , however, some eye candy.

In the bonus segment of the DVD, director Steven C. Miller described the film as depicting the deep ties and loyalty in a family. Indeed, the start of the film has good potential for the lifelong bonding of two brothers, Mikey and JP.Mikey was the older brother always looking out for little JP. The boys had a rough upbringing and JP never forget the protection provided to him by Mikey. Now, as adults, the roles are reversed. JP is lending a helping had to Mikey, who had a drug addiction problem, financial burdens, and the pain of a divorce.So far, so good.But, the film suddenly lurches away from the human and family element into a predictable and excessively violent action picture. When Mikey is kidnapped and held for ransom, JP must find $350,000 (later awkwardly changed to $200,000) in a matter of days.The vicious local don, played by Nicholas Cage, even plans to kill both brothers, as well as take the ransom money. This part of the film lapses into gratuitous violence. It also features a grotesque, over-the-top performance by Cage, who wears a black wig.The promise of the relationship of the brothers was never fulfilled in a film that was a veritable arsenal of cliché characters, violent action, and a smarmy ending.

So. What can i say. If you like shaky camera work ANY time anyone moves. this is the film for you. Atmosphere. Grit. South. these are the three things that move this movie. I love John Cusak, and Nicholas cage. cage gets 10 minutes (maybe less) Cusak gets 5 minutes. "entourage guy" nice acting! all the rest is just, Meh.... Good movie to pass the time (1.5 speed on VLC) Some shots are WAY too long (kid walking in arcade????) but... making movies is hard......