Review of Lord of War (2005) by Tyler C — 23 Apr 2010

Lord Of War was written and directed by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca and The Truman Show), and stars Nicolas Cage as a Ukrainian restaurant owner turned international arms dealer. He makes deals with people during famous civil wars but only sells his weapons to the civilian fighters that need them. But his sales attract the attention of an Interpol agent (Ethan Hawke) which begins to interfere his business and personal life.

Nicolas Cage is actually pretty terrific as Yuri Orlov. He plays the character in a cool,calm way he usually does, but he makes the character much more interesting than most actors would. Jared Leto co-stars as Orlov's brother who has many problems of his own. I feel that Leto is in his prime form when he plays sleazy characters like this and he knows how to turn on the dark side when the character spirals out of control. Ethan Hawke does a good job,too,although his character seemed a lot like his Training Day character in a more hard-boiled fashion.

However,what I love the most about Lord Of War is it's style. Cinematographer Amir Mokri shoots the film in a very stylish way and gives the film a very gritty look when it comes to the civil war scenes. The movie also may have a lot of political undertones in it but it makes the story even more interesting as it goes on.

Overall, I thought Lord Of War was a very stylish and interesting look at the world of arms dealing. I also think that the film is one of Nicolas Cage's most underrated performances. If it had a cult following among some type of movie fans groups, it could be a lot more well known than it is right now. In addition, I'm not a huge fan of Andrew Niccol's other films but Lord Of War may have become one of my favorite films in the drama thriller genre.