War Dogs – those who become involved in warfare for purely personal gain. Based on the 2011 Rolling Stone’s article War Dogs by Guy Lawson and his following book entitled Arms and the Dudes, this biographical film tells the story of a complicated partnership born out of the Iraq War and the use of conflict to make large (or ridiculous) amounts of money. Written & directed by the man behind the Hangover trilogy and Due Date, this eye-opening film is above all, one for the Jonah Hill fans out there.

Struggling for money & aspiring to be a big name in the entrepreneur world, David Packouz (Miles Teller) is a masseur & bed sheet salesman to homes for the elderly in Miami, unfortunately an awful one. But after rekindling their lost friendship Packouz very quickly becomes involved in a business partnership with his, to put it lightly, delightfully unhinged old childhood pal Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill). Our main character transforms from a desperate salesman bringing in no money for his expecting partner, to one half of a comedy double act that pursue contracts selling guns, ammo and almost any form of warfare equipment to the US governments allies in Afghanistan. After bringing in unbelievable amounts of cash, the two start to lose their grip as their greed gets them involved with more & more unsavoury characters and the trust between them comes into question.

Todd Phillips’ films are not underlined with any particularly weighty themes (other than that losing your friend on a stag night out never ends well no matter how often you do it). This is where War Dogs stands out from the Director’s past. While it has his signature stamp of goofy one-liner jokes that turn it from a war biopic into a war biopic laced with ridiculous comedy, the film is more worth watching for the true story behind it. The idea that two young men are capable of conning the US Military and making millions of dollars out of an illegal war is something fascinating and grimly hilarious! There’s no doubt that Hill does what he does best in this film, and raises its appeal majorly just by being him – this includes Miles Teller who doesn’t stand out as immensely funny, or inspiring in the more serious scenes – And yet, the combination of humour and drama in this film is only enjoyable up to a point. The idea Phillips has attempted of merging his comic styling with a film detailing events of a historical, illegal war slowly deflates, and all you really have left is laughing at Jonah Hill shooting guns and making crude jokes while laughing like a teenage girl Saying that, it’s a film that pushes you to read into the story of the real two men and the War they exploited, plus Phillips & Hill? A combination that many would be happy to see again.

Video courtesy of: Warner Bros. Pictures

[imdb id=tt2005151]

Stephanie Allard
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1 Comment

  1. We found this to be a very good movie, surprising based on some rather negative reviews I’d seen. The three male stars were all excellent; Miles Teller is totally believable and adorable. Jonah Hill kills it and Bradley Cooper does, too, although his part is quite small. (Teller’s wife in the movie is beautiful and very real also.) I like stories based on actual events and this is quite an amazing story! There is action, suspense, humor…….I would recommend!

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