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Movies / On DVD / Lord of War
Lord of War

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Lord of War (2005)

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Reviews Counted:138

Fresh:85

Rotten:53

Average Rating:6.2/10

Consensus: While Lord of War is an intelligent examination of the gun trade, it is too scattershot in its plotting to connect.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Thriller, Theatrical Release

Theatrical Release:Sep 16, 2005 Wide

Box Office: $24,033,036

Synopsis: Based on actual events, this black comedy/drama stars Nicholas Cage as international arms smuggler Uri Orlov. The story follows Uri from his humble beginnings as a Soviet immigrant in 1970s... Based on actual events, this black comedy/drama stars Nicholas Cage as international arms smuggler Uri Orlov. The story follows Uri from his humble beginnings as a Soviet immigrant in 1970s Brooklyn and peaks with his involvement in selling off the stockpiled arsenal of post-Cold War Ukraine to--among other top clients--the sadistic African dictator André Baptiste, Sr. (Eamonn Walker). Jared Leto costars as Uri's little brother Vitaly, whose conscience and a burgeoning cocaine problem get in the way of business. Ethan Hawke is good as a sanctimonious Interpol agent with a vendetta against Uri, but the film's biggest dose of onscreen gravitas comes from Walker, whose Baptiste seethes with a heavy, serpent-like malevolence. Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, the film makes fine use of the brisk stream-of-consciousness narration style that Martin Scorcese brought to the true crime genre with GOODFELLAS (1992), and a near constant flow of action and classic rock songs that ensure a speedy, riveting ride through three decades of global carnage. Cage, who coproduced, lets his patented oddball magnetism slowly change polarity, until viewers realize they've been led into a moral quagmire by falling for his self-delusory spiels about supply and demand, making this one of the bravest and most jet-black comedies of its decade. [More]

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ian Holm, Sammy Rotibi, Eamonn Walker

Director: Andrew Niccol

Director: Andrew Niccol
Screenwriter: Andrew Niccol
Producer: Philippe Rousselet, Norm Golightly
Composer: Antonio Pinto
Producer: Nicolas Cage
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Release:

Jun 27, 2006

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Reviews for Lord of War

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Full Review Source: Hollywood.com | comment Comment
09/24/05
Hollywood.com

Andrew Niccol keeps the film interesting with frenzied camerawork and startling imagery. It's too bad the story itself didn't take as many chances.

Full Review Source: Juicy Cerebellum | comment Comment
09/18/05
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum

Its best moments burn with irony.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
09/16/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle

[W]hile the film is powered by a righteous anger, it is also very funny, stylish and daring.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
10/08/05
Andy Jacobs
Andy Jacobs
BBC

...absorbing, even as it makes hamfistedly obvious moral points along the way.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
12/15/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

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

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
07/10/07
Anton Bitel
Anton Bitel
Eye for Film

An unflinching portrait of a man who needs to have his ethics examined.

Full Review Source: ReelTalk Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/17/05
Betty Jo Tucker
Betty Jo Tucker
ReelTalk Movie Reviews

[Cage] makes everything bearable, applying his usual talent for giving unsavory characters some attractive traits.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
09/15/05
Bill Muller
Bill Muller
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Niccol’s attention to detail perks up the screenplay, and constantly strengthens the ideas that he’s frantically trying to communicate.

Full Review Source: FilmJerk.com | comment Comment
09/15/05
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
FilmJerk.com

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

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
09/19/08
Ceri Thomas
Ceri Thomas
Channel 4 Film

Nicolas Cage delivers the guns and the goods. Powerful images compliment a gripping story.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
09/18/05
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Journal News (Westchester, NY) | comment Comment
09/24/05
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Journal News (Westchester, NY)

An interesting study of an unrepentant louse.

Full Review Source: Fantastica Daily | comment Comment
09/21/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

(The way you feel about Nicholas Cage’s character is exactly how you might feel about the leaders of all governments. They are indeed cut from the same bloody cloth).

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
09/14/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

As Yuri plainly gets off on risk, he's also broadly representative of cavalier attitudes toward risk concerning vulnerable individuals and communities.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
09/16/05
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

In showing us a man who tries not to notice what happens after he closes the deal, Niccol gives us a fast and funny movie that should leave you feeling a bit queasy.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
09/15/05
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Christian Science Monitor

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.

Full Review Source: Time Out New York | comment Comment
08/16/07
Dave Calhoun
Dave Calhoun
Time Out New York

This is Niccol’s bravest movie to date, and it is an unquestionably brilliant work.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/20/05
David Cornelius
David Cornelius
eFilmCritic.com

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

Full Review Source: New Yorker | comment Comment
09/20/05
David Denby
David Denby
New Yorker
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We should feel both sickened and engrossed.

Full Review Source: San Diego Union-Tribune | comment Comment
09/16/05
David Elliott
David Elliott
San Diego Union-Tribune
 
 
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Latest News for Lord of War

September 14, 2006: Box Office Guru Preview: Rock's "Gang" Aims to Score Big
Following the worst box office weekend in three years, Hollywood has nowhere to go but up. It hopes. More...

August 09, 2006: Critical Consensus: A Brave New "World," A "Step" Down, And No Screenings for "Pulse" and "Zoom"
This week at the movies, we've got Oliver Stone paying tribute to the heroes of 9/11 ("World Trade Center," starring Nicolas Cage); two youngsters trying to start a... More...

May 11, 2006: Roland Emmerich's "10,000 B.C." Begins!
Big-budget spectacle-maker Roland Emmerich just began production on his "10,000 B.C." for Warner Bros. The large-scale old-school period piece will shoot mainly in... More...

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