Lord of War Movie Review:

It is amazing how similar the rise of criminals is no matter what the crime is, at least according to film. With all of the drug dealer and gangster films, they all seem to follow the same structure, and oddly they all seem to rely on voiceovers to tell their story. Although Lord of War fits into this mold perfectly, it brings forth a new crime and with it a whole new set of moral dilemmas. This only makes the film slightly more interesting than any predecessors, which means many audience members won't be seeing anything new, but the journey is still interesting and fairly well done.

Nicholas Cage gets by on natural charm as Yuri Orlov, an unsatisfied restaurant worker who decides that selling guns is the perfect escape from monotony. Although we never see how he begins this career, Lord of War follows him closely after his first sale. Yuri soon has more business than he can handle on his own so he enlists his brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto) to watch his back. This works well until Vitaly develops a drug habit which quickly interferes with day to day business.

Yuri take pride in selling his guns to all equally, whether it is to dictators or members of a revolution. Whether the guns are used for genocide or revolution, all he cares about is the bill being paid, something which leads to the successful wining and dining of a trophy wife, whom he chooses not to tell the truth about his business. As Yuri become the top arms dealer in the world, he becomes a target. Although Yuri uses his quick wit and resourceful thinking, an Interpol agent named Jack Valentine, easily played by Ethan Hawke, soon begins to hunt for Yuri. Valentine knows that Yuri is selling guns and there are all sorts of cat and mouse games as he tries to catch him. Unfortunately this is the least of Yuri's problems with a drug addicted brother, crazed political leaders in Africa , and a wife who is threatening to leave him if he doesn't quit.

The path in which Yuri takes is stark and it is difficult to understand how he can justify allowing his guns to kill so many innocent people, an argument that is at the center of the film. The film often slows down in order to have a lengthy discussion about this matter, and although Yuri is able to justify it to many people, the truth is much simpler. Yuri sells guns because he is good at it and it gives a sense of purpose, however stark it may be.

As much fun as the trailers make Lord of War out to be, even from the opening sequence we are shocked by the brutal message that the filmmakers obviously want us to get. The opening sequence follows a bullet from its construction to its final use. The trick camera work makes this sequence easy to admire, which is what makes the use of the bullet so powerful. While we are getting caught up in how cool the scene is, the filmmakers are setting us up for a fall as the bullet does its job perfectly.

Lord of War is filmed in such a cold blue and gray way, nearly the entire film has the feeling of the cold steel of the guns. It is stark and lonely, something which we know our anti-hero must feel. The message is very strong and yet it is done in a way which never feels preachy or even direct. I often even felt myself wanting to agree with Yuri although the state in which he is left inevitably shows that he is a character to be pitied rather than admired.

Ryan Izay

The creator of The Truman Show and Gattaca inventively tackles another big issue with this black comedy about arms dealers. The story and characters are vivid and compelling, although the film is far too dense for its own good.

Yuri Orlov (Cage) is a Ukrainian-born American who with his brother (Leto) slips into gunrunning in the 1970s, moves into the big time in the sex-and-drugs-fuelled 80s, and finds his roots useful in the post-Soviet 90s. Supplying all sides in any conflict, he makes powerful friends, surpasses his main competitor (Holm), is dogged by a tenacious Interpol agent (Hawke), pursues a supermodel (Moynahan) and maintains a wry distance from the mayhem he's feeding. But can he hold it in balance?

Niccol writes and directs with intelligence and originality. Every scene is packed with astute commentary, which draws us into this unthinkable world and keeps us both hooked and horrified. But Cage's constant sardonic voiceovers and the steady rapid-fire dialog make it feel extremely talky. And it begins to overstate its case, which is extremely wearing. After the brilliantly elegant opening sequence, in which we travel the life of a bullet, everything else feels rather obvious.

So it's a good thing this is such a sure-handed film. The actors beautifully underplay their characters. Cage is perfect for this kind of role, dryly escorting us on a tour through his business with that twitchy poker face of his. He knows every law and loophole, and that the death trade extends to the top of the world's governments, all of whom convince themselves that "it's not our fight."

The way the film jets from conflict to skirmish over the past 35 years is breathtaking. Images and situations linger in the mind long after the film ends, as the weapons make their way from decaying superpowers into the hands of the most vulnerable in the Third World. There's a real sense that the natural order won't sustain this much longer. It's a complex, funny, intriguing film that carries an essential message. With a bit more subtlety (think Mamet's Wag the Dog) it could have been a masterpiece.

Rich Cline

With one gun for every twelve people in the world, the trade of arms around the world is a very serious issue but does 'Lord of War' have anything moral to say on the subject?

The anti-hero has become a stable part of the cinematic world. Having a criminal as the main protagonist of the movie is nothing new and having to get behind someone who is morally repugnant has never been a problem for film going audiences but if you are going to approach a storyline like this you have to make your subject interesting. 'Lord of War' doesn't really do this.

Based on true events, the film charts Yuri Orlov's ascendance to one of the world's biggest arms dealer. From his lowly beginnings in the early 80s, through his glory years after the end of the Cold War and to his inevitable fall, the movie reveals how he achieved this by not becoming directly involved in any of the conflicts he supplied weapons to. He was a supplier and a sales man, like anyone else who had a product to sell and he enjoyed his work. It wasn't the end result however that compelled him to sell but the lengths he had to go through to deliver the good in the first place.

Playing the system, finding legal loopholes and breaking the law to deliver the goods to his clients is the driving force behind the movie but it doesn't go into as much detail as it could have. There should have been more encounters with the law, greedy and untrustworthy clients and more details of how he got the weapons in and out of the different countries. This would have brought a lot more intrigue to the plot because there isn't much else. There aren't even any action sequences to make up for this plot shortfall.

Nicolas Cage narrates and stars in the film and actually does a good job as Yuri but you can't help thinking that with a better script the character could have been so much more. For a man who lived on wits and understanding of the system, he doesn't really have that much to say. He just delivers the goods. You have to think that a person like this must distance himself totally from the moral repercussions of what he is doing but no one could ignore it for as long as he does, especially when Cage and writer/director Andrew Niccol want you to think that he is actually not a bad person. The rest of the performances are also fine with Bridget Moynahan as Yuri's wife Ava, Jared Leto as his brother Vitaly and Eamonn Walker as African Warlord Andre Baptiste Sr.

'Lord of War' is a movie with a message that doesn't really have a lot to say. With not many scenes that deal with the consequences of Yuri's actions, the film deals more with his ill-gotten gains than the guns he sells and this is the movie's main falling point. The performances make it watchable however but can't make up from the feeling of been short changed.

Jamie Kelwick

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