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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: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.

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 - 11 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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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 4 Comments
02/17/06
Paul Byrnes
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
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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
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Impressive performances, fascinating info-bytes and pertinent editorial, but in the end, it feels too much like an illustrated lecture.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
04/01/06
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
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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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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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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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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
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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
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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
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1 - 11 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
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