Lord of War (2005)

All Critics (146) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (89) | Rotten (57) | DVD (23)

Niccol is no stranger to hot-button issues, but he outdoes his previous efforts by injecting this satire of war profiteering in the Halliburton age with a wicked arsenic wit.

August 16, 2007 Full Review

Dave Calhoun

Time Out New York

Top Critic

ELord Of War drops the hammer slowly, laying out the fascinating parameters of Cage's world before opening up its argument in an astonishing denouement.

October 7, 2006 Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

Top Critic

A caustic satire masquerading as an action adventure.

September 24, 2005 Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

A raffishly ironic and insinuating movie -- and probably the most sheerly enjoyable film of the year so far.

September 20, 2005

David Denby

New Yorker

Top Critic

There are the makings here of a really good feature or an even better documentary, but as it stands, Lord of War is not quite either.

September 16, 2005 Full Review

Mick LaSalle

San Francisco Chronicle

Top Critic

Nicolas Cage is enormously, paradoxically likable as a genuine monster.

September 16, 2005 Full Review

Tom Keogh

Seattle Times

Top Critic

A carefully choreographed devil's dance in which Nicolas Cage finds fleet-footed rejuvenation as a man aware evil can't exist without good, but that evil often wins. This uniquely unsympathetic, world-weary film earns the right to fling that truth.

September 19, 2010 Full Review

Nick Rogers

Suite101.com

A fine, grown-up movie, half thriller, half black comedy.

September 19, 2008 Full Review

Ceri Thomas

Film4

Ambitious but uneven; way too violent for kids.

July 16, 2008 Full Review | Comments (5)

Cynthia Fuchs

Common Sense Media

The movie ultimately crushes itself in a vise of self-loathing.

March 11, 2008 Full Review

Rob Gonsalves

eFilmCritic.com

I'm beginning to get discouraged about Andrew Niccol.

July 14, 2007 Full Review

Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

Satire is rarely so hard-hitting, or high calibre.

July 10, 2007 Full Review

Anton Bitel

Eye for Film

previ%u0161e gorka i politi%u010Dki nekorektna pilula za holivudske i mnoge druge autoritete

June 21, 2007 Full Review

Dragan Antulov

Index.hr

This film fails so miserably don't be surprised to find yourself often rooting against the supposed good guy.

May 26, 2007 Full Review | Comments (11)

Kam Williams

Upstage Magazine

More preoccupied with attitude than accuracy, Lord Of War conceives of a small time gun runner turned international major player arms dealer who functions equally beyond governments and historical fact.

March 31, 2007 Full Review

Prairie Miller

Long Island Press

That the CIA engages in these activities with all sorts of Orlovs no doubt slithering around in the mix somewhere, is a far more intriguing huge chunk of vital information that sadly never made it to the screen.

February 8, 2007 Full Review

Prairie Miller

WBAI Web Radio

Lord of War has a surreal edge, despite being enmeshed in world events, with absurdity and dark humor laced throughout.

September 27, 2006

Lisa Ann Cockrel

Christianity Today

Una película frívola y superficial sobre un tema serio e importante como el tráfico de armas. Entretiene, pero como denuncia cínica se queda corta.

September 13, 2006 Full Review | Comment (1)

Enrique Buchichio

Uruguay Total

The movie's too flippant for good drama and not funny enough for satire, but the morbidly fascinating subject and Cage's reptilian performance hold our interest.

May 12, 2006 Full Review

Jim Lane

Sacramento News & Review

• 1. Yuri Orlov: There are only two tragedies in life. One is not getting what you want, the other is getting it.
  – Submitted by Dann M (9 months ago)
• 1. Yuri Orlov: They say, 'Evil prevails when good men fail to act.' What they oughta say is, 'Evil prevails.'
  – Submitted by Dann M (9 months ago)
• 1. Yuri Orlov: Often, the most barbaric atrocities occur when both combatants proclaim themselves 'freedom fighters.'
  – Submitted by Dann M (9 months ago)
• 1. Yuri Orlov: That's the trouble with falling in love with a dream girl. They have a habit of becoming real.
  – Submitted by Dann M (9 months ago)
• 1. Yuri Orlov: You can't force someone to fall in love with you, but you can definitely improve your odds.
  – Submitted by Dann M (9 months ago)
• 1. Yuri Orlov: You know who's going to inherit the Earth? Arms dealers. Because everyone else is too busy killing each other. That's the secret to survival. Never go to war, especially with yourself.
  – Submitted by Daniel K (18 months ago)

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