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Movies / Upcoming / 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.

Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins

Genre: Thriller, Theatrical Release

US 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

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1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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The film's approach to violence is unflinching: this is what poor people are doing to each other with the guns the West sells them, it screams -- but there's no suggestion it might be stopped, or slowed.

Full Review Source: Sydney Morning Herald | comment 5 Comments
02/17/06
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film is totally engaging, even though not always on an emotional level; there are so many issues striding through the screenplay it's hard to relate too closely to Yuri, although there are moments.

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
02/12/06
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This film fails so miserably don't be surprised to find yourself often rooting against the supposed good guy.

Full Review Source: Upstage Magazine | comment 6 Comments
05/26/07
Kam Williams
Kam Williams
Upstage Magazine

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)

Una película frívola y superficial sobre un tema serio e importante como el tráfico de armas. Entretiene, pero como denuncia cínica se queda corta.

Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | comment 1 Comment
09/13/06
Enrique Buchichio
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total

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

What a total misfire.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
09/16/05
E! Online
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
09/24/05
Boston Phoenix

Click to read the article

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/24/05
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Niccol squeezes his cartoonish irony for pathos, as if retelling Superman from the dark side but softening it to make us lament, 'Poor Lex Luthor. Poor, lost Lex Luthor'.

Full Review Source: Blogcritics.org | comment Comment
10/12/05
Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Blogcritics.org

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

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

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
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by comments; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
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