Lord of War (2005) Reviews

• Just Evil Prevails

  jon.h.ochiai2005-10-01

  Atop a hillside in Liberia overlooking an impending village massacre once the arms deal settles, Nicolas Cage's Yuri pleads to his conscience rattled brother Vitaly (Jared Leto), "It is none of our business!" Writer and Director Andrew Niccol's "Lord of War" is all about the big business of war, and the cost of selling one's soul. That lost soul is Yuri Orlov played masterfully by Nicolas Cage. Cage as Yuri also narrates the story. Niccol sets the warped and dark tone in the opening sequence of the manufacture of a bullet to its final destination—so to speak. Yuri comments that there is one firearm for every 12 people in the world. So the question is "How do we arm the other eleven?" Niccol's "Lord of War" is not so much a clever indictment of humanity, rather an acknowledgment of perhaps humanity's darker nature. In a poignant and chilling realization for Yuri (Cage) he says, "They say that 'evil prevails when good men fail to act.' It should be 'evil prevails'." I don't think this is cynicism on Niccol's part, rather only stating what is so given all of history and now. He certainly makes us think from the inside out. Yuri Orlov (Cage) is from a Ukrainian family in Little Odessa, NY. As a young man he has an epiphany witnessing a Russian mafia hit. Being an arms dealer is the path to success. He finds that he also has an innate gift for his chosen profession. He enlists his brother Vitaly (Leto) into the business. "Lord of War" traces the Orlov brothers over the course of 20 years—through the end of the Cold War to the advent of terrorist threats and dictatorships in third world countries. Yuri truly becomes the Lord of War supplying arms to anyone and any country for a profit. He also acts as an independent agent for undisclosed countries supplying arms to "freedom fighters". One gets the drift. Yuri eventually hits his stride and becomes very successful and very wealthy. He marries his trophy bride, supermodel Ava Fontaine (stunning Bridget Moynahan), has a son, and living in a luxury apartment in Manhattan. All the while he eludes the grasp of Interpol Agent Jack Valentine (very good Ethan Hawke), by keeping three steps ahead. Predictably Yuri's world comes crashing in upon him. In a powerful scene with Ava who purposely ignores what her husband really does for a living, Yuri has a conscience meltdown. The actors in "Lord of War" are great. Nicolas Cage is such a powerful and versatile actor. I don't think any other actor than himself, could enroll sympathy as arms dealer Yuri. Cage gives Yuri a subtle detached edge and an expert in context. Cage knows he is in morally bankrupt position, and he uses his smarts and sense of humor to rationalize that he only supplies the weapons to men who do evil. Yuri is the ultimate poster child for "Guns don't kill people. People kill people." Jared Leto is surprising as the coke head brother, who eventually cops to the monster he has become—the counterpoint to Yuri. Bridget Moynahan is deceivingly powerful as Ava, the former model aware that her asset of being pretty is fading, and closes her eyes to what her husband does until it is too late. Moynahan is stunningly beautiful and has distinctive grace and vulnerability. Ethan Hawke as Jack Valentine is the intrepid idealist saving the world from the likes of Yuri. Hawke is very strong and compelling. Andrew Niccol's "Lord of War" ends and the world continues on. The echoes of Yuri voice, just "evil prevails" is a chilling and poignant reminder. Nicolas Cage is brilliant as the lost soul in "The Lord of War". "The Lord of War" is one the year's best.

• Bite the bullet: Guns HAVE changed politics more than votes...

  jdcorcor2005-10-05

  Gulp. What stays with you long after seeing this movie, is the "based on actual events" caveat. Even if this has been Hollywoodized to the max, the core story – that of Yuri Orlov, Ukrainian immigrant boy who learns running guns is easy money and that he has a real knack for it, then grows up to be a conscience-free worldwide leader in arms dealing, etc. – is bone-chilling because grains of truth exist. Writer/Director Andrew Niccol keeps ratcheting up his incisive view of the world, surgically cutting away our illusions, and his scalpel cuts deeper as his talents mature. On his journey from "The Truman Show" to "Lord of War," Niccol has maintained his connection to individual people too often sacrificed at the altar of profit and exploitation. He has a profound ability to reveal the conscience and humanity of man subverted and supplanted by the coldness of commerce (or technology, as in his 1997 "Gattaca"). More and more "civilization," less and less civility. Barbarism dressing in Armani, the Wolf in Grandma's nightgown waiting patiently to devour us with the gusto of a gourmand. Nicolas Cage is perfect as Yuri. Goal-oriented, focused, determined to succeed. He is neither overtly cruel nor ruthless, just a businessman with utterly no remorse or self-recrimination about what he does for a living and how crushing and devastating it may be to the insignificant, disposable "little guy." Without a moral compass or conscience. In other words, an Enron executive. Or Tyco. Or Adelphia. Case portrays Yuri as the epitome of a rationalizer He genuinely believes that he's only doing what someone else would do if he were no longer in the picture. Just a link in the chain. Simply the middleman. Think of all the clichés that those aiding and abetting evil in all its manifestations use to justify their role in the process. "If not me, someone else will do it." "The law of supply and demand." "To the victor go the spoils." "I didn't pull the trigger…" Or whatever. From corporate greed that impoverishes the worker whose pension plan paid for their jets, jewels and vacations, to arms dealers whose stock in trade mows down third world children by the townful. That is a far, far more deadly stone killer than an over-the-top fictionalized movie-made murdering weirdo, as this one could live next door to any one of us (in a very upscale neighborhood, of course). His toxic product is totally indifferent to age, race, gender, religion, nationality, economic status, or any other distinguishing characteristics of mankind. Just a tool, he would no doubt tell you as he glanced as his Rolex before dashing off in his Jaguar or Bentley. And he'll arm either side, both sides, any side…it's of no concern to him. Terrifying, I tell you. Jared Leto, as Yuri's younger brother Vitaly, will break your heart. It's as if Vitaly is the sin-eater, absorbing all the guilt to which Yuri is impervious. He is a sponge, while Yuri is stainless steel. Unable and yes, unwilling, to break the bonds of brotherhood, Vitaly too aids and abets the evil that masquerades as business, just business. Bridget Moynahan is fragile and wistful as Ava Fontaine, super model and Yuri's dream girl. Her vulnerability and gullibility feed one another, as she too becomes one of Yuri's goals in life. Well played by Moynahan, but the audience just doesn't buy her complete ingenuousness. 'Waaaaaay too much money there, Ava. Dictators and despots fast become Yuri's close personal friends, and competing arms dealers his enemies. His threshold of tolerance for violence grows with his wealth, and you wait to see how long this can escalate, how much of a blind eye he can turn. There are arms fairs and shiploads of weapons, all of which pass beyond the control of agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), much to his aggrieved frustration. You may find, as I did, that the Valentine character is fairly wasted and impotent throughout the movie, and that no doubt is intentional. The somewhat heavy-handed slap-you-upside-the-head message being that good is usually, thoroughly, stomped into the blood-soaked earth by evil. Perhaps the most telling line of dialog in this flick is when Simeon Weisz says, "Governments are changed more often by bullets than votes." This is a difficult movie to digest after you've seen it. While watching, you are knocked senseless by the violence, the inhumanity, the ugliness. Most of all by the fear of the reality that lies beneath its surface. But it is superbly done, as punishing as it may be. The dialog is inventive and original in most instances – brutally so -- but the lines are crafted in such a way as to BECOME the future axioms and thereafter clichés that will be repeated over and over in the context of war, politics, global violence, and the trappings of same. Not an easy movie to watch, but perhaps every person on the planet should. Don't expect light entertainment: Just bite the bullet and watch. And learn.

• story-telling perfection

  leilapostgrad2005-09-18

  A movie about a gunrunner who arms the dictators, tyrants, and genocide-perpetrators of the world should not be this deliciously funny. Lord of War is story-telling perfection. The opening scene depicts the life of a bullet, from its creation in the factory to the moment it blasts through the head of a poor African child. Nicolas Cage is Yuri Orlov, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, who becomes the world's most successful arms dealer. Writer/director Andrew Niccol took every major world conflict of the part 25 years and seamlessly incorporated them into a smart, funny, complex story about violence, corruption, and the essence of warfare. Lord of War has no clear-cut, black-or-white, good-or-evil "moral of the story," but no intelligent observation ever does. It's just a fabulous film. "I never sold to Osama Bin Laden," Yuri tells the audience. "Not on moral grounds, but because his checks were always bouncing back then."

• The Truth About Guns & Wars

  sirjonxo2005-09-16

  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)

• Just An Incredibly Well Made Film

  gogoschka-12018-02-11

  Apart from the very serious topic, this is just an incredibly well made film. There are many scenes in this movie which stay with you long after the credits have rolled, the darkly funny ones as well as the truly horrific ones, and to me this is something only the best movies ever achieve. Intelligent and stylish: this is one of very few so called "films with a message" that I can watch again and again, because it's so cleverly constructed and so beautifully shot and acted. A personal favorite, 10 stars out of 10. Favorite films: IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/ Lesser-Known Masterpieces: imdb.com/list/ls070242495/