Lord of War Review
by Steve Rhodes (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)September 15th, 2005
LORD OF WAR
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2005 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
A long and didactic history lesson, the repetitive LORD OF WAR is like a Michael Moore message movie. This is all such a shame since the film, written and directed by GATTACA's Andrew Niccol, has many genuinely funny moments.
The story starts with a long and involved tracking shot of a bullet from birth to death -- the bullet's birth and death, as well as the victim's death. But like a preacher who won't shut up, delivering slight variations of the same sermon, again and again, the movie wears you out by the second act. And the script, which never creates a single believable character, is more interested in moralizing than entertaining.
Basically a one-person picture, it stars Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, a Jewish arms merchant who really isn't Jewish at all. Yuri is clearly a composite character representing every gunrunner who ever existed. No matter how many impossible situations Yuri gets himself into, he always talks his way out without any of his clients killing him.
Ethan Hawke, in a thankless and underwritten role, is completely wasted as the Interpol Agent always two-steps behind Yuri and never really catching up. Bridget Moynahan is onboard as Yuri's trophy wife. Better, but still not a complete character, Jared Leto plays Yuri's crazy brother who is always being checked into rehab for drug addition.
Just about every other line of LORD OF WAR is delivered in voice-over as Yuri flits from war to war, providing us little homilies along the way. Typical of these is the admonition that every twelfth person on the planet is armed and it is the job of the gun dealer to provide weapons to the other eleven. He claims that he sells arms to every army but the Salvation Army.
The movie ends by concluding that every major government is a big arms dealer just like Yuri and, by implication, just as evil.
I'd rather go to church for my sermons.
LORD OF WAR runs way too long at 2:02. It is rated R for "strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality" and would be acceptable for older teenagers.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, September 16, 2005. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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