A battle to sit through.
Lord of War (2005)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
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 approach to Yuri’s tale is an interesting one as Cage and Niccol never break their poker faces in trying to make him any more or any less than what he actually is.
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.
The remainder of Andrew Niccol’s film is so conservatively directed that the opening’s audacious style is missed.
Starts out the work of a filmmaker well aware that he's dealing with a visual medium and ends up as the work of a filmmaker who's retreated into preachy speechifying.
Nicolas Cage gives a great performance as a man you would never want to meet or spend two hours with in a theater.
This is Niccol’s bravest movie to date, and it is an unquestionably brilliant work.
A great, bleak satire that only succombs to unevolved sentimentality from time to time.
Cage blunts the film’s message by his over-acting, turning it into a film that’s not quite serious drama, not quite comedy, and not quite good.
A raffishly ironic and insinuating movie -- and probably the most sheerly enjoyable film of the year so far.
I just wish the film made its points about guns and governments better, and less heavy-handedly.
Don't go in expecting a standard Nicolas Cage adventure and you'll be pleasantly surprised how good this is.
This issue deserves a serious airing, which it doesn't get in a movie this slick and morally bankrupt.
I don’t mean the suggest that the film’s cynicism is a bad thing, a negative attribute. How can you not be cynical in the face of this?
Nicolas Cage delivers the guns and the goods. Powerful images compliment a gripping story.
Niccol and Cage make the downward spiral an entertaining journey — so fiercely entertaining that it takes an eternity to realize how just how hard we’ve been sucker-punched.
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.
Latest News for Lord of War
September 14, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: Rock's "Gang" Aims to Score Big
Following the worst box office weekend in three years, Hollywood has nowhere to go but up. It hopes. More...
August 09, 2006:
Critical Consensus: A Brave New "World," A "Step" Down, And No Screenings for "Pulse" and "Zoom"
This week at the movies, we've got Oliver Stone paying tribute to the heroes of 9/11 ("World Trade Center," starring Nicolas Cage); two youngsters trying to start a... More...
May 11, 2006:
Roland Emmerich's "10,000 B.C." Begins!
Big-budget spectacle-maker Roland Emmerich just began production on his "10,000 B.C." for Warner Bros. The large-scale old-school period piece will shoot mainly in... More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 70% 70% | Where the Wild Things Are | 03/12 |
| 83% 83% | Paranormal Activity | 03/12 |
| 89% 89% | Zombieland | 03/12 |
| 76% 76% | The Informant! | 03/12 |
| | The Strength of Water | 03/12 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Lord of War at Rotten Tomatoes
- Lord of War at IGN
- Lord of War at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.

Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions

Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser

Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.

We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection



Top Critic

