Lord of War

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Lord of War

R

2005

2h 2m

Drama

Action

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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).

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Critics Consensus

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Alberto Abuín

Espinof

02/12/2020

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

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Ashequl I

@Tofa13 Jul 1

Lord of War features what is arguably one of Nicolas Cage’s absolute finest and most grounded performances as the charming yet cold arms dealer Yuri Orlov. The film does a masterful job exploring the terrifying, dark underbelly of international gunrunning, pulling back the curtain on the hypocrisy of major peace-keeping nations. Jared Leto delivers an exceptional, tragic performance as Yuri's morally conflicted brother. The screenplay is brilliantly written and packed with dark wit, though it tries to cram so much global history and character development into a short runtime that it occasionally feels breathless. Had this been expanded into a television series, it could have been an absolute masterpiece. Even with its fast pacing, the film’s powerful message and legendary ending make it an essential watch.

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Sam R.

@legomyeggo1215 Jun 26

Not a great movie. But one that will make you think. Lots of lessons to be learned here and also a great performance from nick cage.

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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!

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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.

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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.

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Mike T.

@EmptyO0O0 Mar 7

Entertaining movie. Good story and good cast.

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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

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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)