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Lord of War

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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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Release:

Jun 27, 2006

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Reviews for Lord of War

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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.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
10/07/06
Stephanie Zacharek
Stephanie Zacharek
Salon.com
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A caustic satire masquerading as an action adventure.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
09/24/05
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
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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
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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.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
09/16/05
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
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Lord of War tosses grenades and then fearfully runs from them.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
09/16/05
Peter Howell
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
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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.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/16/05
Ann Hornaday
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
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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.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment 1 Comment
09/16/05
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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It's a confrontational piece of filmmaking that examines political subject matter without the safety net of genre artifice.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
09/16/05
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
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It's worth overlooking Lord of War's flaws.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
09/16/05
Kyle Smith
Kyle Smith
New York Post
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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.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
09/16/05
Jami Bernard
Jami Bernard
New York Daily News
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Its best moments burn with irony.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
09/16/05
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
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Cage keeps us entertained on the path to Armageddon, which is more consideration than any of the real masters of war have shown.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
09/16/05
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
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It's just a well-intended essay, a movie when necessary but not necessarily a movie.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
09/16/05
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
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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.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
09/16/05
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
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There should be a phrase for the errors Lord of War makes: Call them substance abuse.

Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
09/16/05
Lisa Kennedy
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
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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.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
09/16/05
Philip Wuntch
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
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Lord of War is advocacy entertainment -- an act of mainstream provocation -- and, for the most part, it works unusually well.

Full Review Source: Boston Globe | comment Comment
09/16/05
Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
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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.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/15/05
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Intelligent but not particularly involving.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
09/15/05
Mike Clark
Mike Clark
USA Today
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Nicolas Cage stars as a globe-trotting gunrunner in this misfire of a political satire about the international gun market.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
09/15/05
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
New York Times
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