Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Yuri Orlov is a globetrotting arms dealer and, through some of the deadliest war zones, he struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent, his business rivals and even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, he must also face his own conscience.
Lord of War is a sharp, cynical crime drama elevated significantly by Nicolas Cage's committed lead performance, delivering one of his more controlled and compelling turns. The film's satirical edge on the global arms trade gives it personality, and the opening bullet's-eye-view sequence is genuinely inventive cinematography. However, the plot follows a fairly familiar rise-and-fall arc for morally compromised protagonists, and the ending, while sobering in its messaging, leans heavily on didactic voiceover moralizing rather than dramatic payoff. Novelty is decent but not exceptional — the subject matter is distinctive but the storytelling structure is conventional.