Lord of War

Play trailer

Lord of War

R

2005

2h 2m

Drama

Action

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

148 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

The 20-year arms dealing career of Queens, N.Y., outcast Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) serves as a window onto the end of the Cold War and the emergence of worldwide terrorism. He finds himself reassuring his more ethically challenged younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), while adeptly sidestepping the pursuit of federal agent Jack Lawrence (Ethan Hawke). The globetrotting arms dealer also pursues the woman of his dreams, supermodel Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan).

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

While Lord of War is an intelligent examination of the gun trade, it is too scattershot in its plotting to connect.

Read Critics Reviews

Dave Calhoun

Time Out

08/16/2007

Niccol is no stranger to hot-button issues, but he outdoes his previous efforts by injecting this satire of war profiteering in the Halliburton age with a wicked arsenic wit.

Go to Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

10/07/2006

Even though Niccol sometimes puts unnecessary homilies in the mouths of his characters, he mostly pulls off the tricky feat of being direct and breezy at the same time. "Lord of War" skims along like a dance routine.

Go to Full Review

Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

04/01/2006

3/5

Impressive performances, fascinating info-bytes and pertinent editorial, but in the end, it feels too much like an illustrated lecture.

Go to Full Review

Michael Clark

Epoch Times

10/16/2023

4.5/5

Yuri is Mr. Niccol’s Michael Corleone from “The Godfather” trilogy (directed by Mr. Cage’s uncle Francis Ford Coppola). Both Yuri and Michael put “family” first with their words, but make them last with their deeds.

Go to Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

06/06/2023

4/5

Cage has the bravado to pull off the role of the cocky dealer going toe to toe with rival dealers and dictators, not to mention Interpol.

Go to Full Review

Alberto Abuín

Espinof

02/12/2020

A lazy movie that is interesting just at times. [Full Review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Jakob R

@RT04319002 May 31

Just rewatched this. Crazy how GOOD a lot of these early 2000s movies are in hindsight, especially. with the garbage being produced these days. Cage is brilliant, and there's not a dull minute, neither a cringe ending. Yes, could have a little more edge with the writing, but we won't complain in 2026!

See more

Tess J

@RT22064883 Mar 31

Such a brilliant film. The artistic take of some shots, monologues and re-wording (making the title so iconic) is pure brilliance. The mind of a geniuse and the art of a man. 10/10, easy top 5 movie of all time.

See more

ill 3

@RT25493494 Mar 23

Great entertaining movie but don't expect more for it. This isn't supposed to really give ideas of reasoning on the subject.

See more

Mike T.

@EmptyO0O0 Mar 7

Entertaining movie. Good story and good cast.

See more

Jack F

@MovieFan111 Jan 17

It was actually really good. I understand the audience score. I think the tomato score should have been higher. The dialogue was sharp and acting was great.

See more

Chase P

@Templin7 Jan 12

I greatly enjoyed the movie and loved its use of history. Cage’s acting feels real and believable. It’s also incredibly refreshing to have a movie with (arguably) a villain protagonist.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Andrew Niccol

Director

Nicolas Cage

Yuri Orlov

Jared Leto

Vitaly Orlov

Bridget Moynahan

Ava Fontaine

Ian Holm

Simeon Weisz

Ethan Hawke

Jack Valentine

Lord of War: Official Clip - Evil Prevails

3:21

Lord of War: Official Clip - Free Samples!

2:13

Lord of War: Official Clip - The Arms Bazaar

1:44

Lord of War: Official Clip - Meet President Andre

1:36

Lord of War: Official Clip - Emergency Landing

3:00

Lord of War: Official Clip - Rule of Law

2:09

Lord of War: Official Clip - A Good Brother

2:02

Lord of War: Official Clip - The AK-47

0:55

Lord of War: Official Clip - A Necessary Evil

3:29

Lord of War: Official Clip - Title Sequence: Life of a Bullet

3:00

View more videos

Unleashed

66%

75%

Unleashed

Watchlist

Typhoon

25%

47%

Typhoon

Watchlist

Tears of the Sun

34%

69%

Tears of the Sun

Watchlist

Lockdown

58%

78%

Lockdown

Watchlist

Rush

89%

88%

Rush

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

New 4K UHD Movies in June 2023: Upcoming 4K Releases on Blu-ray

The Matrix Trilogy, Bad Santa, Chef, and More on Netflix and Amazon Prime This Week

Jared Leto’s Best Movies

View more photos

Synopsis

The 20-year arms dealing career of Queens, N.Y., outcast Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) serves as a window onto the end of the Cold War and the emergence of worldwide terrorism. He finds himself reassuring his more ethically challenged younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), while adeptly sidestepping the pursuit of federal agent Jack Lawrence (Ethan Hawke). The globetrotting arms dealer also pursues the woman of his dreams, supermodel Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan).

Director: Andrew Niccol
Producer: Philippe Rousselet, Andrew Niccol, Nicolas Cage, Norman Golightly
Screenwriter: Andrew Niccol
Distributor: Lions Gate Entertainment
Production Co: Saturn Films, Entertainment Manufacturing Co.
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Sexuality|Strong Violence)
Genre: Drama, Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 16, 2005, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 19, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.1M
Runtime: 2h 2m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)