War! What is it good for? Well, business...

Rating: 8/10 (7 January 2006)

Nicholas Cage utters a line in this film about how we can't fight our own biology, and this idea is shown throughout Lord of War; most notably on the plotting side. The film follows the familiar 'rise and fall' plot for most of the duration that films the likes of Blow and Goodfellas have used before it; and the only real difference between them is that here the story is about gun running. This could have been fatal for the movie - nobody likes seeing things they've seen before in cinema - but Lord of War gets over this fact with the themes that run throughout the movie. The film is definitely very anti-war, but it portrays this mood sarcastically by following the exploits of gunrunner Yuri Orlov. Soldiers wage wars; but Orlov is one of the men that actually make wars happen. He provides the weapons that provide the killing; and doesn't care too much about the morality implications because the business is lucrative for him, and if he doesn't do it; someone else will anyway. War is an atrocity; but for some people it's a good thing. Peace is bad for Orlov's business; and he's prepared to keep his morals in check if it makes his wallet bigger.
Lord of War may irritate some people as there isn't a clear story, and the characters serve more as a way to portray the movie's themes than add any emotional weight to the proceedings. The characters do have their moments, however; and a scene that sees Cage having his hand forced by one of his customers expertly portrays the character's attitude and the reason why 'Evil prevails'. Yuri Orlov doesn't want to get his hands dirty; but he's happy to profit from the people that don't mind dirtying theirs. Despite not being a film about characters, Lord of War definitely belongs to its main star. I'm usually indifferent to Nicholas Cage; but here he does very well, both in convincing us that he's an amoral profiteer, and holding the audience's attention. He enforces himself in every scene, and that is the reason why he will always be the headlining star. The supporting cast don't really get to do much; but Jared Leto stands out as Orlov's brother, and the slimy Ethan Hawke is perfectly cast as the Interpol agent on Yuri's tail. The support cast members that really made a mark for me, however were Eamonn Walker and Sammi Rotibi; who are excellent as the father and son that Yuri makes arms deals with.
Lord of War isn't a film for everyone. It lays its themes on thick, and doesn't give the audience much in terms of an actual plot. For me, this makes it all the better; although I can understand if others don't agree. The familiar plot structure doesn't get in the way too much; and Lord of War manages to break free of predictability with it's conclusion. Recommended viewing.