Lord of War (Widescreen)
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Movie Reviews of Lord of War (Widescreen)
Movie Review: Too flawed to be important; how disappointing
Summary: 4 Stars
Andrew Niccol, who both directed and wrote the screenplay for Lord of War, has made an engaging, interesting movie. In the end, unhappily, its main message is corrupted and fails.
Nicolas Cage gives one of his best performances playing Yuri Orlov, a self-absorbed loner turned arms merchant. The movie's tension revolves around the duplicity and mendacity of Yuri. He has a trophy wife, wooed by lies and money. He has a younger brother whose drug addiction and unhappiness arise from being co-opted by Yuri into helping with the arms dealing; his depression is enhanced by Yuri's strange doses of misdirected brotherly love. Tension grows as we wonder: Will Yuri give up arms dealing, and become the person his family needs? Will we discover what motivates Yuri, and men like him, to deal arms in the midst of the savagery and death that he is selling?
This story is well done, and is compelling viewing. But Niccol goes too far in portraying Yuri as an isolated loner, traveling the world with no more than his brother at his right arm, and his quick wits as his guide. This portrayal clearly settles into fantasy land: a actual multimillionaire gun-runner like Yuri could not travel the world without lawyers, accountants, strong-arm men, etc., a complete retinue, gang, mini-mafia of people that would take care of details, such as keeping Interpol agents well away from their affairs.
The rub for Lord of War is that the crucial story cannot be that of Yuri, as interesting as it is portrayed. Niccol and the viewers cannot escape the awful realities about arms dealing, and the message about governments that not only turn a blind's eye, but actively participate. The movie ends strong, and hits all these notes hard. But by this time, Niccol has lost credibility with his portrayal of Yuri. Fantasy does not belong here, and we know it. Lord of War is flawed in its essence, and that is very disappointing. Our times needed Niccol to be better. Lord of War should have been so much more important than it is.
Movie Review: Nic Cage trying something new with this based on true events film
Summary: 4 Stars
At first I really didn't know what was I into. Like Most Nic Cage films I thought this one was going to be action-packed and fast paced think almost like (Gone in 30 Seconds and Next kinda), well I mean don't get me wrong by the title of the movie was "Lord Of War" and the poster with the guy behind Nic holding a gun makes it look like an action movie, it definitely didn't look Sci/Fi or Comedy so I supposed maybe it was action... I was wrong ! Why I don't care ? Because this movie despite it being different from most Cage films was surprisingly wonderful ! Don't you just love it when you find a pleasant surprise ? This movie was more than just a story, it was based on true events and an outlook on Humanity and morality.
The movie is told from a weapon dealer's POV Yuri Orlov (Nic Cage) and his experience with dealing illegal weapons and selling them to foreign troops, governments etc.... Apparently this illegal exportation and importation of weapons (mostly guns and rifles to be used in wars etc...) has gained Yuri millions of dollars but in exchange ripped him off his mortality, humanity, family and most importantly his soul.
This movie was interesting to watch, I knew very little about this subject of weapon dealing but I think I actually gained some knowledge from watching this. Of course, Yuri doesn't go on sealing weapons and wandering freely he is being pursued by the legal authorities who are trying to find him guilty and almost succeed till the last moment. Then you've got his social life which consist of his relationship with his Ukrainian parents, wife and child and his younger brother who is played by (Jared Leto). However, mostly this film focuses on Yuri's illegal activities.
The casting choice I thought were very good, the acting was excellent too. The setting/customs etc.... They were all very believable.
Definitely a movie to watch !
Movie Review: Uneven direction weakens a brilliant screenplay
Summary: 4 Stars
Andrew Niccol's screenplay is something of a wonder. Despite a constant voiceover I felt it communicated the film's anti-arms dealing message with wit and appropriate cynicism. It's too bad Niccol's direction doesn't execute the screenplay as smoothly as I'd hoped. There is no denying Niccol is brilliant when it comes to screenwriting; "The Truman Show" was an absolutely masterclass in screenwriting while Peter Weir was there to guide it to absolute success. But that's just it: Peter Weir directed, not Niccol. Now, I'm not sure I'm the absolute authority on Niccol's work since I haven't seen his "Gattaca," which has a strong cult base; but with Lord of War, all of its problems stem from the direction: 1) the choppy pacing, and 2) the sometimes random interjections of certain information that wouldn't have seemed so random had they been placed differently (ie introducing the protagonist Yuri Orlov's [Nicolas Cage] future wife). Also, the acting is a bit uneven in places (mainly Jared Leto as Yuri's brother). However, Cage is excellent while the movie works both as a character study and an expose on arms dealing. Niccol chooses to make the case that arms dealing is a much bigger problem than drug running. Personally, I was convinced and I'm sure most others will be. The beauty of it all is that we are convinced while at the same time being enterained to full extent. "Lord of War" is at times a thriller and a black comedy, and it could have been a great film had it not been for the weak directing job. It's unfortuante to say but true that he may need to leave the job to Weir from here on out. I could have even seen Michael Winterbottom taking a shot at this given his success with the dystopian "Code 46." To sum up, I recommend "Lord of War" for its screenplay, which may be among the best of the year, and for its powerful message that lingers because it simply cannot be denied.Movie Review: Ammunition for the mind
Summary: 4 Stars
Nicolas Cage portrays Yuri Orlav, a worldwide arms dealer who shows no sign of stopping anytime soon because "I'm good at it.". He wears a gold bullet on a necklace around his neck like a cross. He feels that he's not breaking the 'Thou shalt not kill' commandment since he only sells the weapon and doesn't pull the trigger.
Bridget Moynahan plays his supermodel wife with supermodel brain matter, i.e. as long as there's a lot of money and presents, I won't ask questions. Her acting ability HAS improved a bit since The Scout starring the drunken chain-smoking sexaholic and Al Pacino.
Jared Leto does an awesome job as Yuri's alcoholic drug addicted brother and 'brother in arms' partner in the business.
Both Jared's and Bridget's characters start developing a conscience later on in the movie but by then it's too late.
For the eye-opening message about the world of arms trading that the movie tries to send, it's a very good movie. You can tell however that the producer is trying to turn this (Not Rated) movie into a PG-13 instead of an R rating, which would be a HUGE mistake. The nude scenes have been trimmed quite a bit so they almost but not quite show something. The violence scenes are the same way where you see people being attacked and shot but you don't see splatter coming out the exit wound.
The only problem that I had with this movie was the overuse of cliches, asimiles, and metaphors that make the film a little too philosophical.
This is NOT a movie for kids or teens, even for this so-called not rated version.
Movie warnings: profanity, violence, bloodshed, drug abuse, partial nudity, weapons spokesmodel stripping, prostitute stripping, and cargo plane stripping.
Is it worth the matinee and night time prices to see?
Definitely!
Enjoy!
Movie Review: Dark humor underscores a serious subject
Summary: 4 Stars
The Lord of War tracks the adult life of a Russian immigrant, Yuri Orlov, played by Nicholas Cage. To get out of his crappy life in Little Odessa, he begins selling guns to local mobsters. His business becomes larger and larger until he is the top gun runner in the world, besting a rival who had looked down on him. When communism falls in the Ukraine, he goes to see his uncle who is a Colonel in the Red army. Together they sell Russian guns, tanks, helicopters and missiles because the government is in such disarray no one is watching.
Along the way, Orlov marries his dreamgirl, a model and struggles to help his brother stay clean of drugs and alcohol. The wife knows her husband isn't on the up and up but doesn't want to know because she says she doesn't want him to lie to her. In the end, when she finds everything out and leaves him, it's hard to have a lot of sympathy for her. Ethan Hawke plays a Javert-like Interpol agent trying desperately to put Yuri away. He knows he's guilty but can never get the proof he needs.
This was a very well-made film. All the performances are top grade and it's a beautiful movie to look at. There is an undercurrent of very black humor throughout a serious story. The end result of what happens with all the weapons that are bought is shown bluntly and can be quite jarring. Cage does a good job playing a man fighting with the immorality of what he does while knowing, as he says in the movie, that he's good at it, and if he quits, someone else will take his place tomorrow. There are missteps along the way; a few plot points you'll see coming before they happen and some of the music choices were too obvious, but overall this was a very good movie.