Rent Lord of War (2005)

Sign of the times - Lord of War review by CP Customer

A true picturisation of the current system we live in. Shows what all governments get upto and how they deceive us all !

The international arms trade seen through the eyes of a cynical Nicolas Cage - Lord of War review by Philip in Paradiso

In the early 1980s, Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage), the eldest son of a family of refugees from the Ukraine, is a drifter without much hope of a better future, in Brighton Beach, a grim suburb of New York. Then, he decides to try his luck, with the assistance of his brother, as an arms dealer. He soon realises that the big money is to be made overseas, more particularly in Africa. There is a seemingly unlimited supply of weapons coming out the former USSR, after its collapse in the early 1990s.

The film shows the career progression of Y Orlov, who comes across all manner of shady and/or sadistic individuals in the process, and is basically unfazed by it all. In the process, he picks up a glamorous wife. He is successful. What grips you is the depiction of the central characters, and Nicolas Cage is excellent in the way he plays the part of the merchant of death, devoid of any scruples.

The movie is not a thriller in the conventional sense at all, but it is still full of suspense and riveting. It deconstructs the way that the arms trade works in an insightful manner, without ever being boring or demonstrative. There are also many funny moments: not because the film tries to be funny (and there are also many tragic incidents), but because the entire plot is surreal, and yet entirely plausible.

This is an excellent film that would deserve to be better known and more widely appreciated. In some ways, it is a classic, or should be.

Lord of war food for thought - Lord of War review by CP Customer

If you are expecting an action packed fight fest forget it. If you are expecting a laugh out loud comedy thriller, well the comedy is there but it's definitely got a dark vein of humour running through it.

If you are expecting a dramatic film that's going to leave you thinking then this is it.

Nicholas Cage is on cracking form in this film about a gun runner, selling arms to the highest bidder, to men in the most volatile and bloody regions of the world.

So successful is he, that despite all the wealth it brings him, it costs him far far more in a personal way and leaves him walking a dangerous line.

Married with a kid and the government after him, can he survive rival businessmen, war zones and personal crisis?

His character is hard to consider as a hero, and yet there is a chord of sympathy struck for Cages character in this first rate, well directed and beautifully shot film.

But the cage isn't the only reason why this film will stick in the memory for a long time after watching, because it highlights the hypocriscy of governments and politics in a way that few other movies do.

Rent it and think about the films message which is, what's more important, profit or lives?

Thought provoking and chilling, if I could award movies oscars, this would get one from me for being one of the best movies I've seen in recent months.