Few films end up being made on war and fewer on the aspect of war economies. Nicholas Cage earlier acted in such a film, Lord Of War (2005) and this time, there’s Jonah Hill and Miles Teller in leading roles in this Todd Phillips film.
War Dogs is based on an article in the Rolling Stone magazine titled Arms And The Dudes and is an account of two Americans, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller) who get embroiled in the war guns’ business. While Packouz gets into it just for the money, the film suggests that it is Diveroli who was the mastermind behind it all. Because the film is based on another piece, the story’s not up for review here. However, the direction by Todd Phillips and the screenplay by Stephen Chin, Todd Phillips and Jason Smilovic keep the audience hooked. The twist-a-minute script rides well to take the central characters from their residences in America to Iraq and from there to LA and then to Jordan. Even the brief pit-stop in Fallujah is full of surprises.
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War Dogs takes a cynical albeit humorous take on the aspect of war economy and pulls no punches to tell the world that it’s not the other guys who’re the villains, but the system itself has rotted down, making it possible for anyone without scruples to take advantage of it. It’s quite difficult to make a cheerful film when your message is so gloomy and War Dogs just about keeps afloat.
The screenplay meanders a bit and we aren’t sure that this is the best set of sequences that could make the final cut. But the performances are quite entertaining. Jonah Hill and Miles Teller are perfect as the childhood friends who are in for business because they want to make a quick buck. Their chemistry is one of the highlights of the movie. This is one of Hill’s rare negative role outings and the actor makes the best of it. His portrayal of the greedy, son-of-a-gun character, who takes to prisoners, is one of the best things in the film. Buffering him is Teller as the friend-in-need who’s about to be backstabbed. Bradley Cooper, hiding being glasses as arms dealer Henry Girard, has a small but effective role.
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War Dogs is a good thriller that’s laced with enough funny moments for the audience to enjoy but lacks the punch of a war thriller or even a simple controversial business film. No word on how true the incidents depicted in the movie are, but from a strictly script point of view, none of them remain with the audience once they are done.
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