Customer Reviews

Lord Of War (Hombre Peligroso) [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America]

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(84)
3 star:		(36)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I'm kind of shocked to see poor reviews of this film here at Amazon.com. I think part of the reason some individuals didn't enjoy the film is that they didn't explore the depths of the characters very well; and this is definitely a character-driven film.

Nicholas Cage is perfect at Yuri Olav, a Ukrainian native who's family moved to America years before. They run a substandard Russian restaurant that serves borscht (beet soup) as a staple. Their father has become a devout Jew. And Yuri and his brother Vitaly (Jared Leto, REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) help with the restaurant. Then one day, after witnessing a failed assassination attempt, Yuri receives an epiphany: everyone needs guns. Thus the stage is set for him to become one of the premiere arms dealers in the world.

Against the backdrop of Yuri's life, we get to see the effects of his chosen profession upon his brother's psyche. Vitaly gets into drugs and women, anything he can to help him forget that he and his brother are involved in a business that allows people to kill other people. And when Yuri gives up gun running for a while, Vitaly too comes back to a semblance of normalcy. But when Yuri returns to guns, and asks Vitaly to join him, the stress becomes overwhelming (this is something that I have yet to see any other reviewer comment on and, the way Jared Leto pulls off his excellent portrayal of Yuri's brother, it's a pretty powerful message.)

I also think that many reviewers may not understand the mentality of a sociopath. Their moral compass is broken, according to our standards. So when Yuri (Cage) doesn't grow out of his morally ambiguous state, it didn't surprise me one little bit.

Also, Nicholas Cage is a deadpan actor, and that's probably why they chose him. Remember RAISING ARIZONA and the diaper scene in the convenience store? Or LEAVING LAS VEGAS? Or BRINGING OUT THE DEAD? Cage was the only person I could think of who could pull off a convincing Yuri.

I also need to comment on the brutal message that smacks the viewer. From the opening sequence in the film where we see Yuri standing in a war-torn street surrounded by a paved street covered in spent gun shells, to the scene where Vitaly witnesses the execution of children in Africa, there's not a single moment in the film where the biting reality of what Yuri does and how it effects those around him isn't displayed.

One thing that really intrigued me, too, is that I saw the film's trailer on TV long before the movie came out, and they always showed the bit where Yuri is in the airport and is approached by agents from the ATF, and Yuri says "I guess this isn't about the alcohol or tobacco." I laughed at the trailer. But interestingly enough, once that scene came up on screen in context to the rest of the plot, there was very little comedy in it and the message much more powerful and poignant.

This film definitely had it's comedic moments, but laughing at it is oft-times painful to think about because of what we see Yuri and his brother go through later.

Many of the reviews of this movie are unusually naive and stupid.

My review of this movie is based on a lifetime overseas as the son of an oilman, as a Marine Corps infantry officer, as a clandestine case officer for the Central Intelligence Agency, and as the foremost trainer of governments interested in getting a grip on reality by focusing on open source of information in all languages.

This is a first rate movie with some truly extraordinary visuals and some truly extraordinary lines. It is an intelligence movie for intelligent people, and it should certainly give anyone both a couple of hours of enjoyment, and a couple of hours of reflection.

Among the highlights:

1) AK-47 as the real weapon of mass destruction

2) Africans stripping a plane overnight, literally pulling every piece of it off and making it "disappear"

3) There is one gun for every 12 people, the arms dealers goal is to arm the other 11 as quickly as possible

4) The top arms dealers ("merchants of death") are the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

I read more than I watch movies, and will end with two comments: a) all of my reading bears out the importance and relevance of this movie; and b) it is easily one of the more serious and appreciable movies I have seen in some time. The intellect in the devising and presentation of this movie is absolutely first rate.

Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) sells international weaponry like he's selling used cars. If you don't like the deals from the former Soviet Union's stockpile of arsenal, you may be interested in a huge lot of discontinued assault rifles. How about unused guns and ammo from the U.S.-led aid to the Bosnian War? If you stick a gun in his face, he'll bring the price way down.

"Lord Of War" is a cynical, yet not heartless and probably accurate portrayal of an American 'secondary market' international weapons dealer. Yuri globe-trots the world scooping up fantastic deals on abandoned and obsolete weaponry and peddles it off to third world countries where demand for blooldshed is high. His biggest competitor, he likes to joke, is The President of The United States.

So you get a heavy dose of good-humored anti-war subtleties, with a highly entertaining movie thrown in for good measure. The first person narrative, sometimes spoken directly into the camera, offers an endless stream of topical one-liners. Some work, and some don't - "Buying your first gun is like making love for the first time. You don't know what you're doing, but you know you're having fun." - or something to that effect. You eventually come away with a crash course in international arms dealing, that all the Time magazine issues in the world couldn't offer, sure to make you a more politically conscious observer. Exposure to the horrific results of weaponry in such an entertaining fashion is harsh, humane and like an unexpected needle from a doctor.

Like a confident puppateer above the chaotic gunsmoke of war, Nicolas Cage reveals a believable and likable global arms dealer, who could be the same guy you saw selling a hot car radio in an ally. His scenes selling guns are nerve-bending as he makes bold physical and vocal gestures never riling dangerous warlords, while the slightest nervous tick could set off a slaughter. Bridget Moynahan's 'trophy wife' is anything but, an honest and touching portrayal of a rather superficial person coming to terms with her husband's means to wealth. I loved what she said about her failed careers and her stand against Yuri's profession, - "I have been a failed artist and a failed actress. I will not be a failed human being." Eamonn Walker as Liberian dictator Andre Baptiste delivers a suave and vicious characterization as a man who will 'test drive' a new assault rifle by killing someone in the room with it.

I went into this film mistakenly thinking it was the upcoming film, "Jarhead". I saw previews for both and confused the titles. A little troubled by my mistake, it was as if someone pointed a gun to my forehead and said, "watch this film instead." I'm sold. Good deal!

This is partly in response to the 1 star review. I don't know what kind of system he is using, but on my 37 inch 1080p LCD display this blu-ray disk looks WAY better than DVD.

That said, could it be a better? Sure it could. But it's ridiculous to slam this movie for that. The detail is actually amazing in most of the picture. I can see pores of skin, blood vessels in eyes, small grit, and other sharp details throughout.

If you want a movie that makes the DVD version look ugly this will fit the bill. If you can't tell the difference you need glasses or a new HDTV.

Loved this movie...took my partner to see it as I thought it was another blow-em-up guy flick but it turned out to be a deeper and well thought out movie of the now generation. I was suprised how uncompromising the character was and jeered/cheered him all the way through to the suprising end. Worth a watch and might even get the viewer outside their media washed mind...or not. We need more movies out there like this. Thought provoking and the guilty pleasure of a hollywood action flick!

This movie is a superb look at a man who sells guns for a living to all countries and the bad/good choices he makes in his life.

Watching this film gives you a deep insight into how rival countries get the weapons they get. You are taken into a journey into a dark world full of corruption and violence.

Pegged in the middle of it is Nicholas Cage's character, Yuri Orlov. We get to see his 40 year life span as he evolves from a peasant working at the family restaurant to a gun-selling "maniac" who becomes deeply obsessed into what he does. We see that as he becomes more induced into this dark, violent world of weapons, we his soul become darker as well. He lies to his wife and betrays the people he sells guns to. Yuri sells his guns to both sides of wars and states that he doesn't care who has the guns, it's that their using them. This is probably one of Nicholas Cage's finest and trickiest performances.

This film feels like Scarface in the sense of a lower-class man starting out with minimal earnings and working his way up in a business most people would shun away from. Ethan Hawke plays a cop who is desperate to put him away. But, Yuri is always one step ahead of him in hiding all of his guns and evidence to prevent Hawke from getting any real evidence out of him.

This is a very intelligent script with an intriguing premise that will plug you right into Yiri Orlov's life and well send you deeper into the corrupt, immoral man he becomes.

B. Merritt already wrote an excellent review on the story, so I'm not gonna go into that. Instead, I'm going to touch the fact that this movie, sadly, lost all of its bonus content during the transition from DVD to Blu-ray.

Granted, the bonus content wasn't exactly mind-blowing either, but the clips of the cast and crew talking about this production were still very nice. Since this is actually my favorite movie, and considering the massive space that a Blu-ray disc has, I assumed that along with the improved HD video and audio quality, there might be more extra material. Unfortunately, not only is there no such added content, but the bonus content found in the DVD version of the film, has all been completely removed. All of it. 100% gone.

Instead, the only ''bonus'' content is a trailer of a few Lionsgate movies coming to Blu-ray. Wow, how thrilling...

I didn't rate this with 5 stars, due to the fact that they removed the bonus content that had already been included in the DVD, which is stupid, since a DVD can store much, much, much less space.

In reading about the Third Reich (which I've done quite a bit, even though it's not the most pleasant subject matter), one element I noticed running through many commentaries was that of the banality of evil, referring to the strange tendency of the most ruthless Nazi functionaries to be regular people who went about their jobs the way most of the rest of us do, with little if any thought given to the massive human suffering involved. Sadly, that's usually the way it is: evil is good at hiding. The most morally bankrupt people-gansters, tyrants, drug lords, U.S. Senators-generally aren't raving, slobbering maniacs, but instead can often be found hiding behind nice suits and slick smiles. So it is with Yuri Orlov, the moral vacuum at the center of Andrew Nicol's frequently inspired Lord of War. This is some excellent political filmmaking: dark, hilarious, and unflinching, with occasional but suitably brutal depictions of violence and general depravity, all framed with Cage's matter-of-fact voice-over narration.

This movie basically does for gunrunners what Goodfellas did for gangsters: there's no real plot per se; it just captures several extended snapshots from a life and career spent on the wrong side of the law. All the basic elements of Martin Scorcese's classic portrayal of Henry Hill's life can be found here-the meteoric rise, the materialistic excess, the twisted characters and violent deaths, the myriad family problems-but Lord of War adds ample doses of the kind of black humor that made Dr. Strangelove and Fight Club such subversive classics. Moreover, where the power and influence of the Mafia have subsided since the events of Goodfellas transpired, this movie makes clear that the gun trade is still very much alive and well. As Yuri himself says late in the movie, his work may be evil, but it's a necessary evil, ensuring that business will always be good.

Played by Nicolas Cage in the best work I've seen from him next to his dual role in Adaptation (which was some of the best acting I've ever seen from anybody, so I doubt he'll ever top it), Yuri's a friendly enough guy with a nice deadpan sense of humor, capable of compartmentalizing his life to the point where he can sell weapons to the most brutal of dictators under the rationalization that he doesn't control what they do. Besides, while it may be a dirty job, someone's gotta do it. Yuri basically just buys enthusiastically into the capitalist notion of getting what he can when he can, without getting caught up in the tangled web of loyalties that characterizes foreign relations. After all, if people are going to kill each other (and they are) and someone's going to profit from it, he reasons, it might as well be him. The early going of Lord of War follows Yuri around the world as he sells to anyone, anywhere, anytime (but not to Osama Bin Laden: back in the '80's, his checks frequently bounced).

While Yuri himself is resolutely nonpolitical in his endeavors, the movie places his activities squarely within the changing face of world politics as the end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union leaves a vacuum that Yuri's only too happy to fill. Starting with his first sale of an Uzi in New York's heavily Ukrainian Little Odessa, Yuri quickly graduates to wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, hitting it big when his uncle sells him a mother lode of former Red Army stock. From there it's on to Africa, becoming the arms dealer of choice for a vicious Liberian dictator and his insane son (memorably portrayed by Eamonn Walker and some guy whose name I can't remember, respectively). Lord of War gives us a look at some of the nuts and bolts of arms dealing, focusing heavily on Yuri's efforts to stay one step ahead of driven Interpol agent Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke, all righteous indignation and selflessness, at least on the surface), but the movie is more a character study than anything else, examining the traits that enable someone to profit from the enabling of war and mass murder (to the extent that the two concepts can be considered separate, anyway). Yuri is able to succeed largely because of his unique moral flexibility, a trait that allows him to overtake former arms-dealing kingpin Simeon Weisz (Ian Holm), who's hindered by his pesky habit of taking sides. Sure, Yuri has reservations at times, but the temptation offered by a big score always outweighs the satisfaction of earning an honest buck.

Yuri is periodically joined in his dealings by his kid brother Vitaly, who's everything Yuri isn't: wild, undisciplined, equally prone to orgiastic drug use and sex and paralyzing attacks of conscience. As played by Jared Leto, Vitaly is the voice of sanity and conscience in a business that has no room for either, making him conspicuously less fit for the job than his brother. Yuri also winds up with a pretty trophy wife in the form of his childhood dream girl Ava (played by Bridget Moynahan, better known in my neck of the woods as Tom Brady's girlfriend). Since Ava's never achieved anything in her life beyond looking good, it's a rather thankless role, but Bridget does what she can in her few dramatic moments.

I must say, some of the more critical analyses of this movie on this site have left me a bit perplexed. Some people seem to be interpreting it as another hand-wringing "message movie" from the Hollywood left, but I don't really see too heavy-handed an agenda here beyond showing what an ugly place the world often is. If anything, it aims to illustrate the moral bankruptcy behind the lofty claims of those who proclaim themselves patriots, freedom fighters, or other such high-minded labels. After one of his deals leads to a massacre of Sierra Leonean civilians, Yuri muses that people say evil prevails when good men do nothing, when they should just say evil prevails. In a world filled with bigotry, hatred, and violence, it's not that hard to see his point.

... but 'Lord of War's' sardonic tone brings it a lot closer to 'Dr. Strangelove.'

As a movie, 'Lord of War' is fast-paced and vivid, with Nicolas Cage blithely shrugging off his chosen profession of gun-running as just something he is good at ... as if to say, he would sell vacuum cleaners door to door instead, if he were good at that.

As fact, the movie seems roughly accurate in noting the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resulting chaos that loosened controls on its weapons (regular and nuclear). But the postscript noting the United States as one of the world's top weapons merchants was simplistic ... look at China, Russia and France, if you want to know where all cheap, simple arms floating around Somalia, the Sudan, Liberia and Iraq came from! (Source: BBC).

It may be slightly preachy during a scene involving slaughter at a refugee camp, but it's nothing compared to Syriana.

Looking for an action-adventure shoot-em-up that features Nicolas Cage jetting around the world, battling bad guys, and getting the girl? Then you'd better find a different movie. Lord of War is as thought-provoking movie as I've seen in a long time, and I'm convinced that the critics that savaged it were expecting Cage's usual fare (National Treasure, Con Air, etc.).

I knew this movie would be different before it even started - in the audio setup menu, I saw the Amnesty International logo in the background. I'm sure Amnesty protects their logo, so I can't imagine it being there by chance. Another oddity that you'll notice right away is that Cage narrates the movie. He's not teaching, preaching, or anything close - it's like he's sitting with you in your living room discussing his life as Yuri Orlov.

This was wonderfully written. I'm sure that the Hollywood rule book stipulates a tale of redemption with clear-cut divisions between good and evil, but apparently the rule book wasn't read in this case.

Cage was perfectly cast as Orlov. Just the right proportion of dark humor and deadpan delivery will make you believe that the role was made for him. The supporting actors did a great job as well (Eamonn Walker was fantastic as the Liberian dictator). Orlov's "trophy wife" (played by Bridget Moynahan) was anything but a trophy - she came across as thoughtful, smart, and tough - not adjectives usually associated with the breed.

I highly recommend this movie!