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All Movie Info
Directed By
Andrew Niccol
Written By:
Andrew Niccol
Cast:
Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ethan Hawke, Eamonn Walker, Ian Holm, Steve J. Termath, Sammi Rotibi, Steve J. Termath, Nalu Tripician, Patrick Walton Jr.
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Lord of War (2005)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
September 17th, 2005
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Lord of War contains some fundamental and harsh truths about the nature of war; mainly, that they will be fought regardless of what mechanisms are available. This is an observation made by Yuri Orlov (Cage), an arms dealer who sells to anybody anywhere, as long as they have the means to pay him. Conscience is not really a factor for him; he admits that tobacco and alcohol kill more people than his weapons, which is probably true, but it doesn't effectively rationalize the act of selling guns that will, at one point or another, be used to slaughter innocent people.
Yuri is the son of a Ukranian immigrant, even though he doesn't have any discernible accent; neither does his younger brother Vitaly (Jared Leto), who serves as his assistant up to a point. Yuri lives in a luxurious Manhattan apartment with his model girlfriend Ava (Bridget Moynahan), who seems to believe him when he tells her that he is involved with internatinal shipping. She could be pretending, especially if she is reluctant to give up all of the nice stuff she has accumulated during the course of their relationship.
Yuri doesn't have a lot of competition in his particular field, he overtook his one main rival, Simoeon Weisz (Ian Holm) and now manages to keep a relatively short (but everchanging) list of dependable clients, one of whom is the brutal Baptiste Senior (Eamonn Walker, in a deliciously vile performance), dictator of Liberia. Yuri also finds himself being pursued by Interpol agent Valentine (Ethan Hawke) who is committed to putting Yuri behind bars, and shutting down his operation. Valentine's dogged persistence is constantly tested as Yuri continually eludes him.
'Lord of War' really hinges on the performance of Cage, who is absolutely perfect as the neurotic, self-absorbed Yuri. Cage has played similar characters in Matchstick Men, Bringing out the Dead, and even The Rock, but he delivers every time. He is surrounded by a wonderful supporting cast (Leto and Walker deserve honorable mention) and truly excellent cinematography. However, the pacing is at times inconsistent, resulting in ocassional narrative lulls, upsetting the fine balance established by the sensational title sequence, and most of the blood-spattered events to follow.
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