Lord of War

Many people might walk away from this one not feeling "entertained" because it's not your typical Hollywood thriller. It's not a "Feel Good" movie you should take a date on in the hopes of coming away high on life and hand in hand. It's a movie that'll make you think and might disturb the uninformed viewer who knows little about the politics of war.

This is a movie based on actual events (that means it's a movie that has some truth to it). From what I heard the director made quite a bit of research of the gun running world when creating this movie.

This movie takes a look at the gun running business through the story of one particular trafficker played by Cage. It goes through two decades of wars & conflicts and how the business and politics of gun running works. Cage is the middle man in that world, who navigates through it very professionally and coolly. Cage's character is made to be likable, but not a hero by any means.

Many people may think that this movie depicts certain cultures and races in a bad light, but if you know anything about history and keep up to date with world events you'll understand the truth behind these portrayals.

The movie is interesting because it is as close as to a realistic look to arms trafficking as Hollywood could produce without making a documentary. It's refreshing because of this.

I hope people see this movie because it very much shows the truth behind how wars are supplied and how the richest nations in the world have done this for the ultimate prize… that thing that makes the world go round – Money.

The movie as a whole is produced very well and the acting and cinematography is up to par with the type of film it is (as mentioned before, don't expect a big production Hollywood action flick).

Don't expect your typical Hollywood ending here either.

(I'd compare this movie with Buffalo Soldiers (2001) with Joaquin Phoenix)

Lord of War is about an arms dealer named Yuri Orlov who confronts the morality of his work while being chased by an Interpol agent. This is a very interesting film brought by director and writer of the film, Andrew Niccol (Gattaca). This is another great film of his that will boost up his career even more. Nicolas Cage puts up another great performance of the year and although his acting is very ostentatious, his narrating just like in The Weather Man, which came out a couple months later, is perfect. The dialogue is very good and the script couldn't be any better. Most of all, I clearly gave respect to Andrew Niccol, because honestly, he deserves the most credit out of any one who worked on the film. My hat goes off for him. Overall, great film of 2005 and I'll be paying more attention to Andrew Niccol's movies. I highly recommend it.

Hedeen's Outlook: 8.5/10 ***+ B+

A kind of dark comedy concerning a crazy, rogue arms trader (Nicholas Cage) and delivers one of his best ever performances (in a film quite like no other). It contains a very serious message throughout and some highly quotable lines to, such as "The 'AK-47' being the biggest weapon of mass destruction, as it's killed more than anything else". The tile is a clever word play and a featured mad dictator who gets everything backwards, such as "Bath of Blood", instead of 'Bloodbath' and "Lord of War" replacing 'Warlord' and so on. Has a ring of a terrible truth, with death, destruction and murder, being such a lucrative trade.

I recently rewatched this modern classic. Nicholas Cage remains a most accessible and plausible character especially in roles like this, where a clever fellow discerns a golden path to riches and sells his soul during the flawed journey.

In the IMDB trivia, it is interesting this movie was never funded by US sources, probably because the truth hits a little too close to home, and makes people uncomfortable. As the movie ironically points out, the biggest arms suppliers on the planet are also permanent members of the UN security council.

Back to the movie itself. Since it is based on real lords of war and warlords, it's coldly terrifying to see how easy the means for mass murder have been made available across the world. As many have noted, it is far easier to kill from a distance than from up close, giving the killers a false sense of morality and deniability.

This movie has aged very well - the insidious arms trade it highlights is as active and lethal today as it was for the last 100 years. As a beloved game series Fallout points out, "War. War never changes."

"Lord of War" is about a man named Yuri (Nicolas Cage) who in the early 80's decides that he doesn't want to just work in a restaurant for the rest of his life and decides that instead he wants to be an arms dealer. Once he makes his first sale, Yuri is hooked on the feeling of making big money for selling firearms, and continues to sell the firearms but he wants more and more of a profit and more and more of a challenge. It's not until an Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke) is hot on Yuri's case that he begins to question the nature of his business and whether what he is doing for a living is moral and if he should be responsible for the hands these weapons get into and what they are used for. A powerful performance by Nicolas Cage, as well as a great thought-provoking movie ensues… I love movies like this one for a few reasons. The main reason is that for the most part you can't predict what is going to happen next or where the film is going. Another reason I like movies like this is because it's powerful and its makes you think. And lastly I like a movie like this because it doesn't end in a typical way and actually leaves you feeling blown-away and surprised.

The filmed starred Nicolas Cage who lately has done of some the best work of his career. His performance here is top-notch and powerful. There are so many other people in the film including Jared Leto, Ian Holm, Ethan Hawke and Bridget Moynahan to name a few who are also very good at the roles they played. This film is written and directed by Andre Niccol the same man who wrote "The Terminal" and "The Truman Show" so I guess I shouldn't be so surprised by why I actually liked this film so much, it had a good lead actor and a good screenwriter.

I guess this movie all comes down to how open minded the movie-goers who see this are. I guess it also amounts to where you stand on the political fence. The film is not for those who don't have an open mind about things that are going on in the world today. The movie is based on true events so be warned that some of things shown in the film are happening in real life or did happen at one point in time. To be honest, I do believe what the film states in the end, it doesn't seem at all far fetched. It's like Yuri says in the film "it's not our war and no matter what we do we can't stop it" and that's true it's like smoking kills people every day but there are people who run cigarette companies everyday knowing that they are killing people every single day and getting people addicted to something that in the end will kill them. Is that moral? What can we do to stop it? These are questions this film asks and leaves it to the viewer to decide on.

So in the end, this movie isn't for everyone. In a sense this film is kind of like the movie "Blow" because it's about a man who feels his life isn't complete without selling something that is bad. He has everything he could ever want but still needs to sell the firearms. It's an amazing and powerful story which I feel really puts things in perspective as far as us Americans look at things. Nicolas Cage's performance is incredible as he seems to not care at all for the people's lives he puts at stake every day and when it comes to his own life he still seems unemotional and doesn't seem to worry. Personally I think this is one of the best film's of year and is in fact just as good as the other political drama currently released called "The Constant Gardner" so if you have an open mind about things and enjoy movies that will make you think, well check out "Lord of War" because it's well worth the price of admission at the theater.

MovieManMenzel's final rating for "Lord of War" is a 9/10.