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.
Lord of War (2005)
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Reviews Counted:32
Fresh:14
Rotten:18
Average Rating:5.6/10
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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Reviews for Lord of War
A raffishly ironic and insinuating movie -- and probably the most sheerly enjoyable film of the year so far.
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.
Lord of War has a hip, gonzo energy to it and it's often transfixing to watch and listen to. But it's finally just as empty as the man it's about.
The poison arrows of satire that writer-director Andrew Niccol aims at international arms dealing and the great powers who let it happen for their own gain -- the U.S. dangles prominently on Niccol's hook -- are frustratingly scattershot.
It's a confrontational piece of filmmaking that examines political subject matter without the safety net of genre artifice.
Movies usually show bullets as if they're generic, anonymous masses of metal coming off a conveyor belt, while Lord of War wants us to see that each bullet is inscribed with somebody's name.
Cage keeps us entertained on the path to Armageddon, which is more consideration than any of the real masters of war have shown.
It's just a well-intended essay, a movie when necessary but not necessarily a movie.
As a drama, it isn't much. As education, its heart is certainly in the right place. As an entertainment experience, it's more than a bit of a repetitive.
There should be a phrase for the errors Lord of War makes: Call them substance abuse.
It gives moviegoers something to think about. If that recommendation sounds too dutiful, let it be known that it's exciting as well as thought-provoking.
Lord of War is advocacy entertainment -- an act of mainstream provocation -- and, for the most part, it works unusually well.
Any time you're watching a film in which the statistics in the voice-over have more intrinsic drama than the protagonists' lives, you know you're in trouble.
Nicolas Cage stars as a globe-trotting gunrunner in this misfire of a political satire about the international gun market.
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