Lord of War

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Lord of War

R

Released Sep 16, 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

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.

Aug 16, 2007

Full Review

Stephanie Zacharek

Salon.com

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.

Oct 7, 2006

Full Review

Kim Newman

Empire Magazine

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

Rated: 3/5

Apr 1, 2006

Full Review

Michael Clark

Epoch Times

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.

Rated: 4.5/5

Oct 16, 2023

Full Review

Allison Rose

FlickDirect

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.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 6, 2023

Full Review

Alberto Abuín

Espinof

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

Feb 12, 2020

Full Review

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kavindu a

soo underrated movie. This is really a masterpiece.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/26/24

Full Review

Audience Member

The start is cool but the movie is kinda mid but kinda cool at the same time. It's aight

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/16/24

Full Review

Michael V. P

I keep going back to this movie as it has one of the best VFX long takes I think I've ever seen. There's a lot to this film in how it violates the "no voiceovers" rule, and like "Fight Club" it shows how to properly break that rule. This one is like fine wine, aging for a better taste over time.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/07/24

Full Review

Faiz D

Lord of War is a wild, unique, and an amazing film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/24

Full Review

MDJ 2

Great movie I love it,

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/27/24

Full Review

Regal R

70/100 - this movie fails to convey what it set out to show to the audience. entertaining, but a bit long and drawn out.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/23/24

Full Review

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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

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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)

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