 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Lord of War
- Review Date: December 7, 2006
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 2005
Common Sense Media says
Ambitious but uneven; way too violent for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie is about an international arms dealer and includes explicit images of explosions, gun battles, dead bodies. An early, striking sequence follows a bullet from manufacture through sales and shipping to its eventual endpoint in a boy's head -- the screen goes red. It also features frequent cursing, smoking, sexual promiscuity and unclothed female prostitutes, as well as drug use; one of the dealers becomes a serious cocaine and heroin addict, the other becomes addicted to the rush of selling contraband. The film reduces complex points about international markets and politics.
What's the story?
Ukrainian émigré Yuri (Nicolas Cage) sees himself as a good enough American, having absorbed the moral, political, and legal lessons of his adopted home. He and his brother Vitali (Jared Leto) grew up in Brooklyn's Little Odessa, scamming for money and status, passing as Jews, surrounded by gangster violence. Cynical Yuri starts selling arms during the Cold War. Refusing to take sides when he sells -- to highest bidders or repeat customers -- he reasons sides are unstable anyway. Nations, including the U.S., take up with allies who are most convenient and useful at any given moment. Yuri's "first break" comes after the terrorist bombing of the Marine base in Lebanon, when the U.S. leaves behind an impressive array of munitions. Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Yuri's Uncle Dmitri (Eugene Lazarev) has access to much of the $32 billion worth of arms that goes "missing." And so the ambitious young entrepreneur leaps into the global not-so-black market, backed by his compliant muscle, Vitali.
Is it any good?
Ambitious, uneven, and occasionally philosophical, LORD OF WAR ultimately argues against war and violence. While this is hardly a new idea, it's rare to find a movie so determined to make its case -- sometimes too heavy-handedly, though always earnestly. This despite the fact that Andrew Niccol's movie is something of a comedy, in that it frames its subjects -- violence, militarism, cutthroat business practices, avarice, depression, and addiction -- with dark irony.
Less effectively, the film sets Yuri against an Interpol Agent (Ethan Hawke), who embodies a legal system that has little to say about international gun-running. While Yuri plainly gets off on risk, he's also broadly representative of cavalier attitudes toward risk concerning vulnerable individuals and communities. As he resists considering moral or cultural dimensions when making sales, he becomes a drug addict. Though the film is not subtle, it does make its case: taking sides is inevitable.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the brothers' relationship: how does Yuri take advantage of Vitali? How does Yuri's lying to his wife, Ava, become a metaphor for lying to himself? What is the function served by dogged Agent Ryan, whose moral position seems almost quaint alongside the high stakes rolling of the arms dealers? As the film argues that Yuri's deals are small potatoes next to corporate and government contractors, how does it take a stand against Yuri and/or how does it generate sympathy for him?
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AGE
wonderful!
Life of a Arms dealer. genocide, murder you name it its in it. every kid can watich it if they understand
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AGE
Makes you sick to the stomach
The previews make it look like a gun runner with some good comic releif. Rather it is a story of a gun runner/war lord that does not beleive it is wrong to supply weapons (guns, tanks, rpg, ammo, etc.) to anyone.
Sin is always present in this movie, whether it is in the form of violence, sex, lieing, drugs, murder (guy shot in the head at close range, brains splatter), or any combination of these.
It is horrible from every perspective. The movie trys to make a point, but it gets lost amongs the sin.
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AGE
An interesting film.
Worth seeing, but not my absouloute favorite (bring that down to 3 stars, please). For persons 13+ who can understand issues like violence and sex.
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AGE
Good film with conflicting morals
A good film, that was based on tthe life of an arms dealer. He does what he has to claims it is "an evil, but a nessisary evil." And for many reasons he is right. It isn't very approprete for younger people, there is sex and nudity and some brutal genocide but it is overal a good film.
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AGE
Compelling cautionary tale
Spectacular catuionary tale about how arms dealers are no different than those who use their weapons. It's a troubled look into a world that has no moral code and has no conscience. And by the end, As payment for Yuri's sins, he loses everyone and everything he ever cared about, because he places his worth in his sales-pitch skills, and is left at the end with nothing but his guns and his money, a sad alternative, the movie shows us. Yuri is repayed for ALL of his sins by the end of the movie, and it's clear that the filmakers are trying to show us that his lifestlye is a very bad idea. This movie rings true on EVERY level, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who can handle the offensive content (some mildy R-rated sexual content, some violence, and strong language). .
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AGE
talk to your kids before you decide them watch this
Lord of war is a good political thriller that delivers action,thrills,humour and relationships. Violence is realistic but still not over the top sex and other stuff is pretty much what you would expect in an r-rated movie. Also as your kids probaply have played counter strike and call of duty so they would likely love this film and how its told i dont care what other people say that the violence is graphic or not its a little bit harsher than you would expect a PG-13 movie. So if your kids are 13 and up feel free to watch them this movie
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AGE
Very Mature
Bloody violence and graphic drug use is not for kids. Very mature material involving arms dealing.
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| Studio: | Lionsgate |
| Director: | Andrew Niccol |
| Cast: | Bridget Moynahan, Jared Leto, Nicolas Cage |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 122 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | September 16, 2005 |
| DVD release date: | January 17, 2006 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | strong violence, drug use, language and sexuality |
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