Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Lord of War’

Written by Scott Edwards

Trying to make yourself better is something that we all strive to do. Becoming a better person can be one of the easiest or hardest things to do, depending on our situation. There is something about doing something great for yourself or others that leaves us feeling so much better. But there are so many times when you look back and think that you could have done something to make a bad decision better, and if you let too many of the moments that you can correct go by without doing something about it, it could leave you with many regrets.  

Yuri Orlov is just looking for a way to do something special. Being present during an assassination attempt, Yuri has found his calling, selling guns. Running a restaurant with his little brother Vitaly, Yuri is able to present the opportunity to his kin of making more money than either of them would ever see coming from the service industry. As the Cold War has come to an end, Yuri finds that the market is flooded with firearms that could be sold for a hefty profit.

As his profits start to grow while taking advantage of the open market, Yuri comes face to face with his biggest opponent, Simeon Weisz. Simeon is the premier gun runner and Yuri wants to join forces with his idol, but Simeon has his own morals that he does not believe that Yuri could ever be accustomed to. Being shot down by his idol does not keep Yuri from growing his business and becoming one of the most important men in the arms trade, but as his business continues to grow, an Interpol Agent starts to pick up on his scent.  

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Agent Jack Valentine will not allow himself to be fooled by Yuri’s tricks of the trade and will do everything in his power to take down the emerging gun runner and Valentine will stop at nothing to make Yuri’s life a living hell until he can get any charges to stick. Turning his focus to Yuri’s family, Valentine gets the in, he is looking for that could take down the most powerful, surviving gun runner in the nation. When Yuri identifies Valentine's plan, he tries to quit his old ways and go straight, but how long can that really last when a past customer comes knocking looking for a better deal on firearms for his next war.

Lord of War is the story behind famed gun runner Yuri Orlov who went from zero to hero in the eyes of many of his customers. Making his little brother Vitaly his business partner seemed to be the best plan of attack for his growing empire, but when the stress gets to be too much, Vitaly turns to drugs and leaves Yuri on his own. Yuri is not deterred from expanding his business and life as he is able to eliminate his main competitor and capture the heart of his dream woman. Beginning his new life and the start of a double life, Yuri sees that his wife does not care about what he does for a living, as long as it does not interfere with their life. When Agent Jack Valentine comes knocking and pressing Yuri’s wife for information about his alternate life, Yuri tries to end his current trade of gun running and go straight, but when an old customer comes to his door, Yuri finds that he is not able to stop what he is the best at.

With all of the Nicolas Cage movies I have seen in the past, this is by far one of my favorites. Although he plays his normal, quiet, disturbed character, the script brings so much more to the table. Seeing the ins and outs of a gun runner, along with what happens when deals go bad was something special. Between being shot, and being offered payment in other means than what he is accustomed to is something that I really enjoyed about Yuri, along with how he comes back from making the wrong decisions, in his job, along with in his life. This is a movie that should be added to anyone’s watch list that enjoys a good story, betrayal, guns or even a look back into history. Happy Viewing.

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