Review of Lord of War (2005) by Joshua M — 04 Dec 2009

Lets get this out of the way; I don't like Nicholas Cage. His line "not cool" in National Treasure pretty much sums up what I think of his acting career. That being said he is fine in Andrew Niccol's Lord of War.

I found this film to be just fascinating enough to hold my interest however it crumbles in many instances under it's own ambitious premise. Uri Orlov (Cage) is a fledgling arms dealer who rises to power by supplying weapons to the Liberian government.

It is intriguing to watch Uri learn the trade however the scope of the film is so vast that at times it becomes difficult to relate to any of the persons on screen. Uri's family life is set up as an important element of the plot it is however very underdeveloped.

On the other hand the relationship between Cage and the Liberian dictator, Andre Baptiste is very well developed. The scenes between these two men are intense as we the audience and Uri begin to realize just how much the two have in common.

We see the effects of putting arms into the hands of violent people and the opening credits are just superb as we follow the journey of a bullet, starting in a factory and making its way into a battle zone.

The film is also very stylishly made and directed. The biggest problem is that while the film gets its point across, it does so too blatantly and leaves nothing for the audience to contemplate. It simply tells you what to think, while a truly great message film will challenge a viewers morality and leave it up to them to decide how they feel.

However it is a very entertaining film to watch in spite of all these things and shows that Cage, while not a great actor, is a true movie star and has enough charisma to keep the film afloat.