Lord of War combines political commentary with entertainment and does it well

Rating: 7/10 (18 September 2005)

Based on that premise that this movie was anti-gun, I really wrestled with my conscience: But I couldn't urge a boycott without knowing more about the movie, so I reluctantly bought my ticket.
Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is the man destined to become the titular Lord of War. But in his early years, he's searching for a mission. Yuri and his family immigrated from Ukraine and settled in Brighton. Yuri isn't satisfied. Neither his is younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto).
In his early 20's, Yuri remains uncommitted until the day he witnesses a hit by the Russian mafia and is stricken with the notion that people open restaurants because other people will always need to eat, and that people buy guns because people will always want or need to kill.
As his business grows, Yuri brings Vitaly into the venture. Vitaly soon finds himself addicted to drugs, while Yuri, has another obsession: Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan), a beautiful model he's worshipped for years.
Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke) isn't fooled by Yuri's pretenses. Unfortunately, he can't back up what he knows with the evidence to prove it. Yuri's business grows until the Soviet Union falls and offers him the biggest windfall he's ever had. Yuri is able to entice the bloodthirsty president of Liberia, Andre Baptiste (Eamonn Walker), with a buffet of weaponry.
Yuri's wealth grows by leaps and bounds as does his reputation; but he stands to lose much as his lifestyle grows more dangerous both to himself and to those around him.
Although the main characters and storyline are fiction, director and screenwriter, Andrew Niccol points out that almost all of the events depicted in the film have actual real life precedents, and Yuri is a composite of five arms dealers. The civil wars and violence in Liberia that extend from 1980 to the present are real. So, obviously, is the fall of the Soviet Union and subsequent looting of weapons (some $32 billion on arms from Ukraine alone are estimated to have been stolen from 1982 to 1992). Although there are moments when Niccol's script does get preachy, it's based in truth and conveys that truth in a realistic and impactful way.
Nicolas Cage is never less than very, very good; Jared Leto, too, is good. Bridget Moynahan is,well cast as the beautiful and naive Ava, and Eamonn Walker is positively menacing as the capricious Baptiste. Ethan Hawke has little screen time, but is just fine, and Ian Holm once again brings his considerable experience to bear as a genteel and yet ruthless international arms dealer.
Lord of War is violent, to be sure, and virtually all of that violence involves guns. But in fairness, virtually all of the violence in countries such as Afghanistan and Liberia does involve firearms. The commentary offered by the film as a whole is far less anti-gun than it is against the immorality  or worse, the amorality  of those who would sell to all comers even knowing the end result will involve massacres rather than defense, and genocide instead of any noble cause. And the movie is honest enough to place blame on those legitimate political regimes that export weapons of war even as it highlights the culpability of individual arms dealers whose very business is death.
The production values are superb (filmed on location in New York City, South Africa, and the Czech Republic, the backgrounds add considerably to the reality of the film); the direction and editing are good (pay particular attention to the opening sequence of the movie involving the life of a bullet from manufacture to gunshot, all depicted from the point of the bullet). The script is dramatic, but with surprising moments of genuine humor (it has a few moments where the writer is obviously trying much too hard, but thankfully they truly are few). Better still, while entertaining, Lord of War offers some educational value I've not seen available anywhere else. As such, I'm pleasantly surprised to find I'm recommending you see the movie rather than suggesting any boycotts.
POLITICAL NOTES: Given its storyline, the political implications of Lord of War are many.
In the least sense, there are two moments in the film that seem to address some anti-gun sentiment directly. But these two moments  one of them regrettable in its naivité  aren't enough to warrant a boycott.
On a much larger scale, the political machinations behind many of these supposedly independent gun runners is shocking. Remember that the penultimate scene in the movie is based on a true. It's also ironic to note the fact that the world's five biggest arms dealers are nations, not individuals and that (here's the ironic part) those five are the five members of the UN Security Council (as an aside, does that begin to illustrate to you just what a farce the UN really is?).
Those who most violate the humanity of others with their guns would do so if they had to use sticks and stones (or the machetes we see in one particularly horrifying scene). The bottom line is that getting rid of the guns would do nothing to stop the fighting. To pretend that eliminating guns will eliminate the problem is both naive and entirely ignorant of the facts; worse, getting rid of the guns would make any defense against the bad guys impossible.
FAMILY SUITABILITY: Lord of War is rated R for "strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality." Some of the violence is graphic, as is the drug use. I wouldn't recommend Lord of War for those under 16. But the mature, Lord of War offers much to talk about. Frankly, talking a little more about political realities like these couldn't hurt anybody, and might actually improve in some small way some of the awful circumstances found around the world.