War Dogs (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America’s allies in Afghanistan.

My Take – The craziest part of this Todd Philips directed & Bradley Cooper produced film would be that its based on a true story (well at least partly). Similar in tone to Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, this film turned out to be a lot more serious than what I expected after seeing the trailer. It’s not the first time I’ve seen either Miles Teller or Jonah Hill in something more dramatic, I just may have assumed their first real outing together in a film from the director of The Hangover series would be more of a straight up comedy. This film corresponds to so many other films that it practically fits as a companion piece to be watched in conjunction with other features. Like ‘The Big Short’ for the 2008 involvement in the arming of Afghanistan forces, and as a supplementation to ‘Charlie Wilson’s War’, the film also works as additional commentary on white collar crime, a la “The Wolf of Wall Street.” It’s the flashy, modern, hip, comic representation of armed conflict, utilizing lines like eBay for war and Comic-Con with grenades to spruce up the dark subject matter of gun-running, fraudulent shell companies, and the Pentagon’s intentional blind-eye policies toward Middle Eastern ally armament. After all, it’s directed by the man who brought audiences “Old School” and “The Hangover,” so comedy is expected to be kneaded into the plot – even when you are not expecting it.

The story follows David Packouz (Miles Teller), a massage therapist in Miami who has just ended up spending his life’s savings on a bad investment of luxury bed sheets. When he discovers his girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) is pregnant, David knows he needs a more profitable profession. Partnering with his high school friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) in his fledgling arms dealing company (amusingly dubbed AEY, without actually being an acronym) seems risky, but after the money starts pouring in, David is hooked. As the contracts to procure weapons for the U.S. government steadily get larger and more dangerous, David finds himself creating increasingly extravagant lies to keep Iz from the truth. When the company lands a three-hundred-million-dollar deal to supply munitions to soldiers in Afghanistan, the rapidly accelerating deception, mistrust, and peril surrounding his job begin to tear David’s world apart. Here, director Todd Philips gives the rise and fall of the American dream his own treatment. And after 15 years of directing explicit comedies, his film does closely resemble the 2006 Nicolas Cage starrer film Lord of War except that it’s far from dull. With a certain amount of flamboyance, a more entertaining flow, and Bradley Cooper in a steely-eyed, supporting role, this is the kind of movie Lord of War wish it could have been. Director Todd gets out of his comfort zone to channel a little Martin Scorsese (the use of freeze frames, voice-over narration, and freewheeling camera movement) and the result is one of 2016’s best films. This film much like The Wolf of Wall Street and The Big Short, focuses on real people and events that unfold before our eyes and the film is very satirical at times and also gives a good commentary on things such as how these two young men could have conned the American government the way they did and basically how easy it was for them to get filthy rich and do so under everyone’s noses, or without them being aware. The film looks at war and weapons and how the American government goes about it’s daily business with these types of foreign affairs and activities and the filmmakers here give a very critical and sometimes scathing look at such things showing that as voters, citizens and everyday people, we really sometimes have no clue as to what our government officials are up to, or what goes on behind the scenes and it also leaves one thinking that these people must not always be completely competent, or on top of things the way they should have been because otherwise we wouldn’t have a film like this one, or a true story and events such as this film depicts because anyone who knew what was going on would have put an end to it a long time ago, or so I hope.

The film is just as good as any political spoof, or skewering by offering up many things for us as viewers to both be amazed and horrified at in equal measures. All the while though, Phillips proves he can tell a good story and both make an impact with it and completely engulf us into the world of arms dealings and the seedy goings on that these characters were involved in. The film can be quite humorous at times both in crude ways which Phillips still knows how to do, but yet he improves upon here and yet the film is so riveting that while not a thriller we are still so fascinated by what is going on in front of us that it would be a major mistake to leave the theatre even for a couple minutes and dare miss a second of this riveting story unfolding before us. Even though the introduction of David’s demeaning masseuse job and desperate bedclothes scheme are orchestrated for contrast, the film has an odd way of making the paradisiacal Miami Beach seem just as dangerous as bullet-riddled Fallujah. Indeed, the perils in both locations seem equivalent, considering scenes of theft and assault endured in Florida. The narration doesn’t help (it really should be Efraim’s story, not David’s; the self-proclaimed bottom-feeders aren’t given many opportunities to redeem themselves, even down to the final sequence, which casts further doubts on the more remorseful of the two; and the very mixed message about crime not paying (because it truly does) isn’t supported by the lenient punishments. But there’s nevertheless something intriguing about average guys with desk jobs spontaneously transforming into literal gun runners through war-torn Iraq, especially with Teller and Hill imparting their expected, quirky routines into this unbelievable yet reality-based yarn. My only problem with the film was the limitation of Ana De Armas‘ character. I won’t lie, she is a beautiful woman and was very nice to have on screen. But I also really liked her character and how she drove the morals of the story despite all the corruption in this film. That goodness could have really refreshed the film at some of the slower parts and they could have injected some more suspense in the film by having her in the film. Perhaps she isn’t the most key character in this war/crime drama, but hey it couldn’t have hurt in trying. While its Miles Teller who gets the main role (and also does a voice-over throughout the film), this film without a doubt belongs to Jonah Hill. Jonah, an actor who never fails to surprise, is simply fabulous. Jonah sinks his teeth into the part & performs with enviable bravado. He’s every bit of the greedy a-hole he plays & gets the best lines as well, who he delivers with his uniqueness. Also, his laugh, is another highlight. Having said that, Miles is quite-good as well, but this is Jonah‘s show & he owns it. Ana de Armas looks gorgeous & plays the mandatory female influence, with honesty. Kevin Pollak is first-rate. Bradley Cooper shines in an extended cameo. On the whole, ‘War Dogs’ is a very entertaining film that works due to its engaging storytelling and the dynamics between Miles Teller & Jonah Hill.