5 Movies To Watch If You Liked Lord Of War

One of the best movies from the class of 2005 and among Nicholas Cage's finest performances in a long and uneven career, Lord of War, is an authentic and thrilling window into the murky world of illegal gun-running and the larger international arms industry. If you enjoyed this iconic addition to the war/crime-drama genre, we've got 5 others that you should definitely consider watching next.

Here are our recommended picks for movies similar to Lord of War:

1. Three Kings

While Nicholas Cage's Yuri Orlov made his fortune pilfering munitions and arms from the breakup of the Soviet Union and selling them into war-torn Liberia and Sierra Leone - Three Kings is a similar account following the fallout from the Gulf War. George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube star as a trio of U.S. soldiers who find a map containing the location of stolen Kuwaiti gold. Deeming it a well-earned reward from their participation in the war, they endeavor to secretly retrieve the gold with no one else the wiser.

Much like Lord of War serves to point out the hypocrisy of the United Nations Security Council also being the world's largest suppliers of arms, David O Russell's 1999 hit also manages to pull of a brilliant action / heist movie while subtly critiquing the forever wars of the U.S. Watch if you like: Stylish war movies.

2. War Dogs

Next up we have Todd Phillips' superb, biographical dark comedy - War Dogs. This movie is as close as you can get to the story of Lord of War without re-watching it. Based on the real life memoir 'Once A Gun Runner', it involves two arms dealers who manage to secure highly lucrative U.S contracts totaling over $250million, to supply the Afghan National Army.

RELATED: 11 Movies To Watch If You Liked War Dogs

While it feels very different in style and tone to Lord of War, if you're set on more gun-running and illegal arms dealing then look no further. With blistering action and some capable performances from Jonah Hill, Miles Teller and Bradley Cooper there's plenty to like about War Dogs. Watch if you like: Movies based on real-life events.

3. The Hurt Locker

Moving along we have Kathryn Bigelow's critically acclaimed, action war thriller - The Hurt Locker. Departing from the theme of illegal arms dealing, it instead focuses on an elite Explosive Ordinance Disposal team who must combat the massive psychological stresses of defusing improvised explosive devices while on the front line.

If you're looking for something that will give you a pure shot of adrenaline and have you on the edge of your seat then this is the one for you. Jeremy Renner's visceral performance will send your heart rate rocketing and leave you exhausted when it's all said and done. Watch if you like: Modern must-see movies.

4. 13 Hours

Continuing with another movie based on a real-life event (in this instance – the attack on the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi), we have Michael Bay's 2016 action-war thriller 13 hours. It involves the heroic actions of the 6 Annex Security Team members as they fought to repel wave after wave of Islamic militant attacks.

Surprisingly one of the most overlooked movies of the year, we’re confident you’ll find more than enough entertainment in Michael Bay's famed action-sequences and the ensemble cast featuring John Krasinski, James Badge Dale and David Costabile. Watch if you like: Michael Bay action sets.

5. Traffic

And last but not least we have Steven Soderbergh's crime-drama release - Traffic. As Lord of War explores the illegal sale of arms from the manufacturers to arms dealers to Governments, Traffic looks at the illegal drug-trade and the various parties involved.

Much like Lord of War, it is a suspenseful and gripping thriller that builds up to a satisfying payoff at the end. If you've never seen this one before we highly recommend you add it to your list of movies to watch next. Watch if you like: Inter-connecting storylines.

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