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Sep 16, 2005 3:58 pm US/Central
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Lord Of War
Richard Roeper: "See It"
(CBS)
We've seen hundreds of gun-crazy action movies, but very few films that tell us anything about the actual business of buying and selling weapons. "Lord of War" is the "Goodfellas" of gun-running movies.
Like Ray Liotta in "Goodfellas," Nicolas Cage is the narrator and main character in "Lord of War," and he never apologizes for his life of crime--though he does try to rationalize it at every turn. In this based-on-fact story, Cage is in top form as Yuri Orlov, a globetrotting arms dealer who never met a customer he wouldn't do business with.
Eammonn Walker is wickedly effective as the cheerfully evil Andre Baptiste Sr., who's nothing but a psycho killer in a dress uniform. But Yuri doesn't care who's fighting or what they're fighting about, as long as they're fighting with his guns.
"Lord of War" is directed with great style by Andrew Niccol, whose previous work includes the vastly underrated "Gattica," and it features terrific supporting performances by Ethan Hawke as the federal agent determined to bring down Yuri...Jared Leto as Yuri's cokehead younger brother...and Bridget Moynahan, as his trophy wife, who doesn't ask too many questions about where all the money comes from.
This is the best international thriller since "The Bourne Supremacy." "Lord of War" is rated R. See It.
(© MMV, CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.)