Lord of War

Starring: Nicholas Cage, Jared Leto, Ethan Hawke, Bridget Moynahan, Shake Tukhmanyan, Jean-Pierre Nshanian
Directed by: Andrew Niccol
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime, Thriller
2005

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the rise and fall of a arms dealer (Nicholas Cage) as he exists in a world where there are no good guys and bad guys, but everything is about the bottom line, and not getting caught.

Review:

Tim: This movie is all about the gray areas. Here, no one is right or wrong and the film paints a world where there are only varying degrees of evil. Nicholas Cage himself says in the movie- "Evil prevails." However, this is not as gloomy and depressing as you would imagine. There are certainly a few moments when you feel that welt of depression building up inside yourself, but you are overwhelmingly entertained rather than bummed out.

Cage is very good. He was made to play this somewhat sleazy but extremely confident and cool character. He is not a good man here, but he is still quite likeable and incredibly fun to watch. He is the most entertaining part of the film. Even his narration throughout the movie (which can often hurt more than it helps) is solid and enjoyable.

Jared Leto and Ethan Hawke don't really add too much. Cage and Hawke make good foils, but this is due more to Cage's skills and less to any contribution by Hawke. Bridget Moynahan just needs to act like a trophy wife, which she does well.

This film is so interesting because it really shows what it is like to be an arms dealer, and more specifically, the major arms dealer for most of the world. This is interesting, very dangerous, and oftentimes deadly. Pay attention to the explanation of the film's title, as it is clever and really interesting.

Lord of War is not a great movie, but it is at least interesting and entertaining. The world of this movie is dark, morally ambiguous, and deadly.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Truman Show, Gattaca