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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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121 - 140 (sorted by date)
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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

The film is morally unsettling on its surface, and then you realize the surface is all you're going to get.

Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
09/15/05
Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The viewer needs to bond with Yuri or we won't care what happens; but a lot of what happens is distasteful.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
09/15/05
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Niccol wants us to identify with the sinner, but he has no taste for the sin.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
09/15/05
Tim Grierson
Tim Grierson
L.A. Weekly

A bleak comedy, funny in a Catch-22 sort of way, and at the same time an angry outcry against the gun traffic that turns 12-year-olds into killers and cheapens human life to the point where might makes not only right, but everything else.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
09/15/05
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Lord is dull. Dirty dishwater dull. Terminally dull.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
09/15/05
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Niccol's ambitious, blacknasty take on arms dealing certainly has its share of niceties ... but it can never quite get a fix on the delivery of its volatile subject matter.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment 2 Comments
09/15/05
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

Niccol layers in smart comedy with ample action and falters only when attempting to hammer home moments of poignancy.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
09/15/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

A trippy, high-budget public service announcement shot like a luxury car commercial.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
09/15/05
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

A long and didactic history lesson, the repetitive Lord of War is like a Michael Moore message movie.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
09/14/05
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

(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

The result is a dead pile of information in search of a movie.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
09/14/05
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Thanks to all of the voice-over, Lord of War feels like a two-hour trailer for a better movie.

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
09/13/05
Dan Fienberg
Dan Fienberg
Zap2it.com

As slick, flashy public-service announcements go, Lord of War is no Constant Gardener.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
09/13/05
Jessica Winter
Jessica Winter
Village Voice

There's a glibness to the treatment that smacks more of sophomoric black comedy than sharp satire, but the cinematic verve is hard to resist.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
09/13/05
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

We've seen hundreds of gun-crazy action movies, but few films that tell us anything about the business of buying and selling weapons.

Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
09/12/05
Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Unlike Cage's reliable merchandise in the film, Niccol's supposedly explosive exposé misfires with every other shot.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/10/05
Nick Schager
Nick Schager
Slant Magazine

Nic Cage's performance is so adept that he makes a gun-runner appear to be a likable character.

Full Review Source: Compuserve | comment Comment
09/08/05
Harvey S. Karten
Harvey S. Karten
Compuserve

The story and characters are vivid and compelling, although the film is far too dense for its own good.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
09/08/05
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

Niccol's script is finally too much for the film to hold onto.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
09/06/05
Robert Koehler
Robert Koehler
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
121 - 140 (sorted by date)
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