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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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61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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As flawed as it is, still has some value as it delivers some measure of truth.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
09/17/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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

Might have worked as a documentary, but isn't nearly entertaining enough as a work of fiction.

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
09/17/05
Scott Nash
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs

Educational as well as entertaining, but its free-floating plot as it drifts from event to event makes it a series of favorable memories rather than a fully-formed picture.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
09/17/05
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.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

With these evildoers exuding such charisma, it's no wonder that the film's message about the immorality of gun-running gets diluted.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
09/16/05
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
09/16/05
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Seattle Times

Plays like a smarty-pants Esquire essay by David Foster Wallace. Even if you agree with it, the movie is so endlessly pleased with itself that you wish you didn't.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/16/05
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Bleakly funny and bitterly cynical.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/16/05
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

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

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
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

This fast-paced and undeniably intelligent film still qualifies as a disappointment.

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
09/16/05
Timothy Knight
Timothy Knight
Reel.com

His heavy-handedness and inability to humanize and explain his hero mean that even the choir Niccol is preaching to won't be moved by Lord of War.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment Comment
09/16/05
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

Its denunciation of rich-nation profiteering at the expense of poor-nation exploitation has you ready to pull your 'enough already' ripcord.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
09/16/05
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

Nicolas Cage as a globe-trotting, under-the-counter arms dealer? It works better than anyone had a right to expect, and precisely because of the idea's seeming incongruity.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
09/16/05
Steve Schneider
Steve Schneider
Orlando Weekly

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

When scenes, performances and even individual shots in Lord of War are considered alone, they're brilliant.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
09/16/05
M.E. Russell
M.E. Russell
Oregonian
 
 
61 - 80 (sorted by date)
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