Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama, Betrayal, Satire, Gore, Infidelity, Prostitution
Tagline: The first and most important rule of gun-running is: never get shot with your own merchandise.
Plot: Disillusioned with his life working in his parents struggling restaurant, Yuri witnesses a shoot-out between rival Russian mobsters. Lucky to escape alive, it is a pivotal moment in Yuris life.Yuri (Nicolas Cage) convinces his younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), to join him in an arms dealing business. They find their niche in under-the-counter gunrunning, selling to regimes suffering under sanctions. Yuri's appetite for guns is matched only by his appetite for sex. But Yuri is constantly under threat - forced to stay one step ahead of a rival arms dealer and a dogged Interpol agent, Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke). His younger brother discovers he has no stomach for the business and develops an addiction for cocaine. After checking Vitaly into a rehab clinic, Yuri goes it alone. Yuri conspires with his Uncle Dmitri, a Ukrainian army general, to sell the weapons. Yuri mostly sells to countries in war-torn Africa in contravention of dozens of arms embargoes that Yuri cleverly avoids. One of Yuris best customers proves to be African warlord Andre Baptiste, Sr., the ruthless dictator and self-declared President of Liberia. Yuri's double and triple lives are starting to catch up with him. A rival arms dealer is killed partly by Yuri's own
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 On the other hand, in Yuri's climactic speech he declares that the biggest arms dealer in the world is the president of the United States, rivaled only by the heads of the other permanent members of the UN Security Council. This thought isn't new, but one doesn't expect to hear it in a commercial action picture.--Jonathan Rosenbaum
"Lord of War" is 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.  --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
As a director, Niccol has chosen a pulpy, heightened "Scarface" style for "Lord of War," which works better visually than it does as a vehicle for any acting beyond striking poses. Ethan Hawke fits in as Yuri's humorless nemesis, Interpol agent Jack Valentine, but the more restrained Ian Holm seems abashed as rival arms dealer Simeon Weisz.--Kenneth Turan
Despite flaws, Lord of War, written and directed by Adnrew Niccol, is a tough, uncompromising film that has something vital to say about the world today, and Cage gives a riveting performance.--William Wolf
A remarkable, audacious, near-flawless piece of filmmaking, Lord of War may just be the first great film of the year. Lord of War takes a little known, underreported subject, the shadowy, unethical world of international arms dealers and delivers an satirical, polemical critique wrapped around an incisive character study. 9/10--Mel Valentin (Movie-Vault.com)
Cage is close to the best thing about Lord of War. Toned a couple notches down from his closest equivalent role, Face/Off, he gives Orlov a measured grace and breezy cynicism that makes him surprisingly likeable, even when hes smuggling guns to a savagedictator and abetting massacres.  --Chris Barsanti (FilmCritic.com)
The film sometimes comes across as preachy and righteous, and conservative gun lovers will likely be tossing popcorn at the screen. But those eager for a glimpse of the world outside the comfort bubble can expect a thought-provoking and valuable War. --Tyler Hanley
Lord of War is kind of like watching a Discovery channel special except with breasts. The movie itself isn't sure whether it wants to be drama, action or comedy, and that combined with a lot of narration from Nicolas Cage gives it almost a documentary feel. And it is in fact "based upon actual events"...Despite having lots of guns and boobs, we left this film feeling kinda flat. The movie was interesting enough, and the actors did a great job.  --Billy Bob
Never subtle, Lord of War makes its argument -- war is a business -- by broad satire and character types.--Cynthia Fuchs
Lord of War is an impressive, complicated film starring Nicolas Cage as a man with a gift for gab and business.--Gary Cogill
..."Lord of War" is gripping and unforgettable - like shell shock, it's difficult to shake. And the film's final thesis is a crushing but undeniable statement: that war and its warriors, evil or not, necessary or not, are not going anywhere anytime soon.  --PIET LEVY
However, this is a brave, funny and angry film that takes an issue that could have easily been depicted in black-and-white terms and treats it, and the audience, with a degree of respect and intelligence that is refreshing and it concludes on a refreshingly downbeat note that avoids drowning in sheer cynicism.  --Peter Sobczynski (eFilmCritic.com)
Lord of War isnt as much fun, though, or as morally instructive.--PETER KEOUGH
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| Cast |
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 | Jared Leto
Requiem for a Dream, American Psycho, Panic Room |
 | Ian Holm
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Fifth Element |
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| ...Lord of War is messy and ill-defined, and as scattershot as its grand topic. --Marjorie Baumgarten (Austin Chronicle)
"Lord of War" has some of the same left-leaning politics that fuel "The Constant Gardener" and may attract a similar audience of viewers who are just happy to see movies take on intellectual concerns again after a summer.--Daniel Fienberg
Lord of War envisions itself as GoodFellas for the gun-running trade, but doesn't display the texture or virtuosity necessary to pull it off. Still, a bravura, resonant performance by Nicolas Cage, combined with some hard questions raised about American responsibility for the worldwide glut of firearms, make the film close to a must-see, if not a must-love. --Chris Kaltenbach
In any case, Lord of War is certainly NOT a bad movie. There are many aspects to appreciate, so I don't think you would be disappointed going to see it... I just wasn't floored by it as some have been thus far. --Brian Oliver
Its hard-hitting and aggressive, laced with a fearless ability to look complexity in the eye and do the one thing most dramas coming out of Hollywood cant - actually tell the truth. +--Sara M. Fetters
Writer, director Andrew Niccol has a great visual eye, opening his movie with a mesmerizing day-in-the-life sequence of a bullet, from its inception to its eventual grizzly destination...--Adam Suraf
Enjoyable film with some terrific scenes and a strong central performance by Cage, though it runs out of firepower before the end. --Matthew Turner (ViewLondon)
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