An Entertaining Look Into A Hidden World

Rating: 9/10 (11 March 2006)

"Lord Of War" is probably the most in-depth, cinematic look into the world of gunrunners, which is a world that many know nothing about.
Starring Nicholas Cage as Yuri, a Eukranian-American who stumbles upon the world of selling firearms and becomes the greatest gunrunner in the world, "Lord Of War" is an educational, entertaining, wonderfully written thrill-ride. At times, it is difficult to watch because the subject matter is so intense and disturbing.
Guns, in the film, are seen as merchandise, not weapons of death. They are thrown around as though they are food or clothes for sale. But there is constantly that thought, in the back of everyone's mind, of what this "merchandise" will be used for. But Yuri does not let that thought in.
Cage does an excellent job, as always, in the lead role. His character seemed, at times, to be the cliché, suave, bad-ass criminal that everyone hates to love, but he takes Yuri to places that many of these type of characters have rarely been. He is vulnerable. He is incredibly smart and very aware of his flaws. Of course, he is the hero of the piece, but American audiences are most likely getting used to the bad guy being the good guy nowadays. Good and evil don't mean much these days, and this film strongly represents that.
Jared Leto and Ethan Hawke are the other stand-out performances in the film. Leto stars as Yuri's lost brother who seems to always be getting himself into trouble. Hawke stars as the detective who is after Yuri throughout the entire film, and is outsmarted for most of the time.
The greatness of this film lies in its writing. Andrew Niccol created a script full of beautifully flowing humor, tragedy, violence, suspense, satire, and political education. So many great lines, especially with the character of Yuri, are present in the film. Of course, having Nicholas Cage deliver these lines doesn't hurt. Cage has a way of saying a line in a way that nobody would have thought to do, but he blows everybody else out of the ballpark.
The underlying message of the film (there always has to be one) is stated in the last lines of the film, spoken by Yuri: "The art of survival is never to go to war - especially with yourself." The battles we go through during life are unavoidable; all we can do is try to keep living. That's all we can do.