If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Great Film overall

Boring

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

This film embodies the true character of America, it is the Godfather of the arms trade in the world, they are the ones who make conflicts to market their weapons and ammunition. A day will come and your war will be transferred to your homes.

Nicolas Cage stars in more movies than any actor I've ever known, and occasionally he makes a good one. This would be amongst those: a devastating indictment of the international arms market as supported by corrupt governments, and a searing picture of one man slowing sinking into the abyss of evil which he creates himself. If you like Yuri's flippantly wicked attitude at the start, you certainly won't by the end... unless, you want Darth Vader to win all along. Ethan Hawke provides good support as a by-the-book Interpol agent, and Bridget Monynahan is effective as Yuri's unsuspecting wife, in fact the whole cast from crazy African despots to impoverished townspeople is great. The only thing I would say is that some of the dialogue is a bit too 'on the nose' in terms of the ongoing battle of good vs evil, and sometimes the plot feels more like a sequence of events instead of having a cohesive narrative. But these are just minor gripes. Most people will come away from this feeling just a little less safe than they were before, and a bit more depressed at the state of the world we live in. And, guess what? These are exactly the emotions the film strives for. Bravo. 7/10

This film at its core is a character profile of Yuri Orlov. Everything from the plot to the cinematography of this film does an superb job of reflecting Yuri's inner guilt and separation from the terrible acts he preforms. It gives us a strong impression of what Gun Running is like and it's a impression that leaves us the audience down right uncomfortable. The core message of the film is that evil prevails and it pulls no punches in delivering that message. definitely not for the squeamish even though there is little violence Lord of War proves to be far more terrifying than any horror film because it's based on true events. Not that Yuri was a real person he is a amalgamation of real people and events though. Easily one of Nicholas Cages Best films well worth your time if you are interested in dramas or politics. Check out a more in-depth review here were I defend my high rating. There are spoilers in the in-depth review so proceed at your own risk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juigHkMifpo

It starts as a promising movie. Nicolas Cage as Yuri leaves a good impression at the beginning and it looks like on of those black comic films which do highlight a serious problem but doesn't take themselves too seriously. Something like Wolf of Wall Street. At the beginning it had that feel, but overdoes of morality and a sense of leaving a message at the end killed the movie. Somewhere along the way writer developed a sense of morality and abruptly tries to change the track which does effect the story line and kill it. There seems to be a rush to end the film that too at a very different note where it started i.e. making an un-apologetic gum smuggler feel guilty. If don well and more gradually it might have worked, but the way all of a sudden, a wife that never questioned her husband's source of money developing a sense of morality, killing his brother to bring a scenario of doom seemed like an afterthought. The worst were last 10 mins in which the power of his connections is exhibited. Overall well acted movie with good dialogs and good first half but weak ending to the story which kills the movie