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Lord of War
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Jeffrey Wright, Ian Holm, Sammi Rotibi
Directed by: Andrew Niccol


Lord of War Reviewed by Paul Heath


"There are over 550 million firearms in worldwide circulation. That's one firearm for every twelve people on the planet. The only question is: How do we arm the other 11?"

LORD OF WAR tells the rise and fall story of Nicolas Cage's Yuri Orlov, a gunrunner that starts off selling guns to the local mobsters in his old neighbourhood in Little Odessa, all the way through to selling huge quantities of firearms to dictators of small countries in the mid-1990's.


The film is told through the eyes of the main character, Cage's Orlov, and we're treated to a wonderful opening sequence where we track up to Cage, over the top of thousands and thousands of bullet cartridges. We then follow a bullet from manufacture to being loaded into a gun and then fired into the head of what seems to be a young African. Pretty powerful stuff, which this movie is, but it also has the comedic edge to it that you come to expect from a movie with Nicolas Cage headlining - but alas, this is a serious film - with a message, a number of messages, the main one being the justification of Cage's character, both to himself and to every viewer, selling firearms to anyone that is willing to pay.


I'd heard mixed reviews of this Andrew Niccol directed movie. I myself wasn't a fan of one of his previous film's GATTACA, starring Ethan Hawke, who also supports here. His next film S1MONE, I found cute, but flawed and without the screen presence of Pacino, wouldn't have been half the movie that it is - but remember, this is the guy that wrote possibly one of the best movies of the 1990's, THE TRUMAN SHOW, and he CO-wrote the wonderful movie THE TERMINAL. So LORD OF WAR could go either way. I'm glad to say that it edged into the positive rather than the negative.


It's a huge movie, and takes in locations all over the world (the

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NRA snag for Cage as arms curbs icon
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NRA snag for Cage as arms curbs icon

Alice O'Keeffe, arts and media correspondent
Sunday December 4, 2005
The Observer


Nicolas Cage is best known for his hard partying and his short-lived marriages. His social conscience has rarely made headlines. But when the Hollywood star took on the role of arms dealer Yuri Orlov in the anti-arms trade film Lord of War, his life changed.

'I look at things differently now,' he told one interviewer. 'I look at the news differently. I look at the people in power differently. I've hooked up with Amnesty International and I do what I can. Lord of War is a violent movie, but it's also a profound comment on violence.'

Arms campaigners were delighted with their new celebrity recruit, and both Amnesty International Worldwide and the Control Arms campaign snapped up interviews with him for their websites. The press talked admiringly of Cage's 'Damascene conversion', crediting his wife, Alice Kim, and his two sons for his newfound maturity.

However, Cage's campaigning career has hit a snag. He is unable to become an ambassador for the anti-arms cause because he remains a fully paid-up member of the National Rifle Association of America.

The NRA is 'committed to preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals to purchase, possess and use firearms'. It was previously chaired by Cage's fellow actor Charlton Heston, who was memorably demonised by Michael Moore in his film Fahrenheit 9/11 for his provocative speeches in favour of gun ownership.

Anna Macdonald, campaigns director at Oxfam, said: 'There were some discussions about getting Nicolas Cage to support the Control Arms campaign.

'We're very supportive of the issues raised in Lord of War, but we have no direct relationship with Nicolas Cage.'



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Lord of War' shoots to the top
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Lord of War' shoots to the top


By Trent Orris


Published: Thursday, September 29, 2005


Article Tools:    Page 1 of 1     


 


Surprisingly, "Lord of War," starring Nicolas Cage, is not your typical shoot-em-up action flick. Technically a dark comedy, it comes off more as a tragedy with some dark humor scattered throughout.


 


Yuri Orlov (Cage) is an Eastern European immigrant who wants two things in life: Lots of money and the girl of his dreams (Bridget Moynahan.) After witnessing an attempted mob hit in a neighborhood restaurant, he realizes the arms trade could be the doorway to his dreams. He goes into the firearms business with his brother Vitaly (Jared Leto). The film depicts their simultaneous rapid rise to fortune and the trade's ever-increasing toll on their souls.


 


The movie's plot is a bit disconnected but succeeds because of its various moments of brilliance.


 


The most memorable is the opening sequence, which follows the life of a bullet from its birth in the factory to its final resting place. This imagery, set to the 60's social-conscience anthem "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, shows that murder is manufactured in many areas of the world.


 


In a reprisal of his role as the good cop in "Training Day," Ethan Hawke plays the hero of the movie - a straight-laced Interpol agent who tracks Yuri's every move.


 


None of the characters are as cruelly unforgettable as Liberian president


and warlord Andre Baptiste (Eamonn Walker). Taking pleasure in his illusion of total power, he is reminiscent of Ralph Fiennes' psychotic Nazi in "Schindler's List." After shooting a young soldier in the head to test a gun, he explains, "Kids today don't listen. I blame the MTV." It's one of the many moments in the film that cause some to gasp, some to laugh and others to grunt in cynical understanding.


 


With violence, harsh language, drug use, partial nudity and adult subject matter, this is not a movie for children.


 


Some critics have decried the nihilistic views of many of the main characters. But like in the best dark comedies, the camera takes a harsh look at those who deserve it. Thumbs up.


           


http://www.kirkwoodcommunique.com/media/paper684/news/2005/09/29/Ae/lord-Of.War.Shoots.To.The.Top-1002061.shtml



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