ANicolas Cagemovie with a 62% Rotten Tomatoes score receives a glowing review from a mafia expert.Cage began his career in the 1980sby appearing in films such asFast Times at Ridgemont High,Rumble Fish, andMoonstruck. Cage won the Academy Award for Best Actor in recognition of his starring role in 1995’sLeaving Las Vegas, which is widely consideredNicolas Cage’s best 1990s' movie. The 1990s also saw Cage starring in several action movies, includingThe Rock,Con Air, andFace/Off.
The quality and reception of his movies varied significantly through the 2000s and 2010s, ranging from the popularNational Treasurefilms to the critically pannedGhost Ridermovies. The perception surrounding Cage and his movies began to change in more recent years, especially with his performances inPig,The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, andLonglegsall garnering critical acclaim. He has many projects currently in the works, one of which isSpider-Man Noir, where he will reprise his role as the detective webslinger fromSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Nicolas Cage’s Lord Of War Receives Unexpected Praise
Cage Plays An International Arms Dealer
The 2005 movieLord of War, starring Cage in the role of international arms dealer Yuri Orlov, is assessed for its accuracy.Lord of War’s storyisbased on the notorious real-world international arms dealer Viktor Bought. Despite a favorable 85% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, the critical score is barely fresh at 62%. Nevertheless, a sequel is in development by the original movie’s director and writer, Andrew Niccol, as Orlov’s arms dealings continue.
Lord of War’s cast also included Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto.
In a video withInsider,former CIA agent and Russian mafia investigator Joe Serio compliments the historical accuracy in Cage’sLord of War. He is impressed by the story taking place in Brighton Beach, given the location’s well-known history as an area for the Russian mafia. Serio also explains that some of the movie’s seemingly more dramatic and violent scenes are accurate given the Russian mafia’s penchant for extorting funds and killing their rivals. Check out Serio’s comments below:
I love this scene from Lord of War. Nicolas Cage’s character is narrating his life and his introduction to the Russian mafia. Number one, it’s in Brighton Beach, and starting in the 70s, Brighton Beach was the Russian mafia location. When Russian criminals moved from the Soviet Union, Brighton Beach was the first place to come because they knew other Russians here. It was places like Brighton Beach where they just grew out from there and very quickly they fanned out across the country.
That part about killing people, that whole scene is 100% legit. Extortion was probably the biggest thing that they did with those stores and those shops of innocent Russians. They threatened store owners, they collected extortion funds, they killed rivals, so for personal reasons, this is a great clip too.
My supervisor in Moscow when I was working with the National Police was the deputy chief of organized crime control for the entire Soviet Union, and he said to me, “Tell your FBI, tell your CIA that our Russian mafia problem is going to become your Russian mafia problem.” This is 1990, before the Soviet Union even collapsed.
When Nicolas Cage does the weapons deal, he saw with his own two eyes what’s possible and saw a niche, and he’s going to fill that niche. That’s all fine, that’s all good, but he did that deal in just some room. Back in Moscow, one of the places that was used for arms deals a lot was hotels, because the gangs control the hotels.
I would rate this pretty high. The Russian influence from the former Soviet Union coming to the United States, setting up in Brighton Beach, it’s all legit, 100%, nine out of ten.
Our Take On Joe Serio’s Comments
Lord Of War Deserves More Recognition
Even thoughLord of Waris often not considered to be one of Cage’s best movies, its largely accurate depiction of the Russian mafia and arms dealings prove that it is highly underrated.Cage delivers a strong performance as Orlovthat is rooted in many historically accurate details. The Russian mafia and arms dealings can be further explored inLord of War’s developing sequel, which could benefit fromNicolas Cage’s ongoing stardom, along with incorporating real-world history from the past two decades.
Lord of War
Cast
Loosely based on various true stories surrounding various real-life weapons smugglers, Lord of War is a crime drama film starring Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer who enters the business after a deadly moment in his youth, triggering his fascination with the trade. The film follows Orlov’s life and explores the dangers and chaos of the illegal arms market.
