You Should Catch Up With Nicolas Cage's Lord Of War Before The Sequel Arrives

The 2005 drama film "Lord of War" is kind of a strange beast that no one really ever talks about it. The film features one of star Nicolas Cage's best performances, a smart script that highlights the horrors of weapons dealing, and some seriously memorable scenes, yet "Lord of War" still seems to slip under the radar. 

Written and directed by "The Truman Show" scribe Andrew Niccol, "Lord of War" was loosely based on the real-life arms dealer Viktor Bout, who was recently part of a prisoner exchange between the U.S. and Russia for basketball player Brittney Griner. It's a harrowing and surprisingly humorous film that let Cage really stretch his acting skills and play a character that's much more reserved than his usual choices. Cage's character, Yuri Orlov, is the globe-trotting "Merchant of Death" that provides warlords with the weapons they need to continue their violence, but despite his larger-than-life career, he's somewhat restrained. "Lord of War" was the first time I ever realized that Cage could really act, right before he went on a spree of weirdness with films like the "Wicker Man" remake and "Next."

Nearly 20 years later, we're getting a "Lord of War" sequel, "Lords of War," announced via press release in May. The release said that plans are to start filming in the fall of 2023, though that could easily get delayed by the negotiations between the Writers Guide of America and the studios (along with any other potential strikes from the Screen Actors Guild or the Directors Guild of America, who are both in/headed to negotiations as well). We may not actually see that sequel until 2025, but that's no reason not to freshen up on the original or check it out for the first time.

"Lord of War" follows Yuri as he travels the globe, illegally buying and selling weapons to just about anyone who's interested. He encounters a number of unusual characters, many of whom are based on real-life criminals and despots, and goes through some bizarre experiences in the process. The main thrust of the film is his sale of a massive cache of weapons used to commit war crimes during the Lebanon War in 1982, and he sells weapons to both sides, getting filthy rich in the process. He ends up seducing and marrying a supermodel and having a kid, putting his brother/business partner Vitaly (Jared Leto) in rehab a few times, and becoming one of the biggest arms dealers in the world.

The movie is worth checking out for Nicolas Cage's performance alone. However, there are also just a lot of stand-out wild moments that have to be seen, whether it's Vitaly trying to snort a line of cocaine that's been shaped into the outline of the brothers' native Ukraine or Yuri finding the "gun of Rambo" for the son of a Liberian warlord, André Baptiste Sr. (Eamonn Walker). Baptiste is largely based on the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, who was convicted of serious war crimes in Sierra Leone by an international tribunal, and he's a wild character that gives the film its title when he switches up the title of "warlord" to "lord of war." When Yuri tries to correct him, he tells the arms dealer that he likes it better his way, giving the audience an idea of the man's way of thinking and his intensity. It's bizarre.

You have plenty of time to check out "Lord of War" before the sequel hits, but it's definitely still worth looking into. Yuri and Vitaly's Ukrainian origins and dealings with the Soviet Union feel especially poignant now, given Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and it's only in recent years that people have learned about all of the exploits of Bout, giving the film new layers for audiences to dig into. "Lord of War" is a fascinating film that has only gotten more relevant in the nearly 20 years since its release, and now's as good a time as any for a sequel.

So where can you watch "Lord of War"? It's currently streaming on Cinemax and DirectTV for those who have subscriptions, but is also available to rent for $3.99 on Apple, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, and pretty much everywhere else digital rentals are sold. It's also available at those same retailers to purchase for $7.99, in case you want to watch Nic Cage snort brown-brown (that's cocaine laced with gunpowder) and hang out with hyenas again and again.