Arsenal (2017) - Review

Arsenal (2017) is an action/thriller movie starring Adrian Grenier, Johnathon Schaech, and Nicolas Cage with John Cusack starring in a supporting role. Michael 'Mikey' Lindel (Schaech) is a source of trouble for the Lindel family, especially his brother JP (Grenier). Most of this trouble comes from Mikey's criminal past and current post-jail exploits which causes a constant stream of chaos for his younger brother. Mikey is eventually kidnapped by a local mobster, Eddie King (Cage), and JP must use all of the tools and resources available to him, the most support he receives is from his friend Sal (Cusack) who is working off duty from his role as a police detective, as a successful businessman and upstanding local citizen to get his brother back safe.

Arsenal feels like a product that was trying to be saved by the studio. Related only by studio acquisitions, Arsenal is tied to another Nicolas Cage vehicle from the early 90s, Deadfall. Eddie King as a character was a secondary antagonist in that movie, an unhinged conman underling whose fate was definitely closed. Eddie has since graduated to taking over a portion of the New Orleans crime scene and wielding influence over the Lindel family since Mikey and JP were children. The role of Eddie in the story could have been achieved by any two-bit gangster character that didn't already have a debut in another middling movie nearly 35 years before. It was a nice touch to include Christopher Coppola, Cage's brother, as Eddie's own brother. Chris not only being Cage's brother but also the co-writer and director of Deadfall is another connection point for the studio to mingle easter eggs that do not contribute to the substance of Arsenal. Speaking of substance, there is hardly any substance to Arsenal. There is a theme of brotherhood and being virtuous running throughout, mostly as a critique of Mikey but as a source of consternation for JP. JP cannot leave his brother alone to his consequences due to the sacrifices Mikey made to ensure that JP could live a normal life. This storyline would be compelling if Mikey wasn't deserving of everything coming to him; even though JP has a normal family, successful career, Mikey still has a need to dabble in criminal activities to a force of habit. There is nothing that draws any compassion to either of the brothers though they are constantly placed in dangerous circumstances to draw sympathy. Cusack is vastly underused in this movie where everyone involved is being propped up by a very flimsy script. As an informal consultant for JP doing whatever he can to resolve the situation without much bloodshed, Cusack's Sal almost blends into the background due to how dull everything else is surrounding him.

Arsenal tries to use familiar tropes present in action movies in this era, namely the value of family and friends looking out for each other, but the use of this mechanic is heavy handed when introduced in the opening scene of the movie. The execution of the movie feels dry despite the injection of family values, trust, and loyalty. Including a character who is supposed to have died years earlier only causes confusion, and the only conclusion from which can be made is that there was some heavy studio involvement with the decision to perhaps salvage a project that already had deep flaws.