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.
Lord of War (2005)
Tomatometer
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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
Reviews for Lord of War
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.
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'.
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.
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.
Lord of War lacks the major gravitational pull that a film of its scope should exert.
With these evildoers exuding such charisma, it's no wonder that the film's message about the immorality of gun-running gets diluted.
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.
Amid all the spent bullets and criticisms of our current president, there still is room for irony in "Lord of War." Unintentional, yes, but it's there.
Thanks to all of the voice-over, Lord of War feels like a two-hour trailer for a better movie.
As flawed as it is, still has some value as it delivers some measure of truth.
Una película frívola y superficial sobre un tema serio e importante como el tráfico de armas. Entretiene, pero como denuncia cínica se queda corta.
Its denunciation of rich-nation profiteering at the expense of poor-nation exploitation has you ready to pull your 'enough already' ripcord.
Instructive, but rarely interesting, and plot-free, but not in a way that favors good characterization.
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