Movie Review: War Dogs

The Big Short was one of the strangest success stories of 2015. It was directed by Adam McKay, the guy who gave us Anchorman and Step Brothers and had not shown he was able to direct Academy Award winning movies, but his film about the recession in the mid-2000s became one of the most acclaimed movies of the year. It won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and McKay was even nominated for Best Director, which is just strange to think about. It was certainly worthy of all of those accolades, but in hindsight it looks like a miracle that it worked so well. Todd Phillips is trying to do the same thing with his new film, War Dogs. He is known for his outrageous R-rated comedies (The Hangover, Old School, Due Date), but he is taking a stab at the dramedy genre with this based-on-a-true story flick. Much like The Big Short, there are spurts of comedy throughout, but the heart of the film is dramatic and tells a cautionary tale. It is something that worked beautifully for The Big Short, and while War Dogs falls short of that high bar, it is still admirable that Phillips was able to make something that is both so wildly entertaining and consistently engaging.

War Dogs tells the true story of Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller), two best friends who become arms dealers selling weapons to the United States Military in the mid-2000s. When they land a $300 million deal, they get in over their heads and start doing business with some very dangerous people. The story mostly focuses on David, who narrates the whole movie and is trying to make enough money to support his long-time girlfriend and newborn daughter. We meet him at the lowest point in his life and it’s fascinating to see the man he becomes once he is rich and powerful. Efraim is the film’s wild card as he presents David with this enormous opportunity and is constantly pushing their business to the legal limit.

At the heart of all of the war drama and arms dealing lingo is the relationship between Efraim and David. The film’s success relies heavily on the chemistry between Hill and Teller, who both crush it. They are able to come off as friends in one scene and then portray an uneasy business relationship in the next scene beautifully. Their relationship is constantly evolving and the two actors carry most of the movie on their backs. Hill provides many of the film’s most comedic moments, but also shows a slimy, power hungry side that he rarely displays on screen. It is close to his performance in The Wolf of Wall Street, but it never gets that over-the-top as he has several more dramatic moments in this movie. Teller is less comedic and more relatable, which perfectly fits his talents. He seems like an average guy who is just trying to make the right decisions but gets caught up in the whole thing. He plays well with Hill and continues to be an up-and-coming actor to keep an eye on.

Hill and Teller are certainly the main draws of this film, but another impressive aspect is Phillips’ direction. This is arguably his best directing job as he is able to show restraint with the comedy and never push it too far in order to let the dramatic moments have heft. He never showcased this in the Hangover trilogy or in any of his other comedies because he was just going for shock laughs, which was what I was expecting here. This is his least funny film, which is fine because there are so many other elements that work well. I do wish the film got deeper into some of the facts they were presenting, but that is something that a news report or a documentary can do. The story works well here and provides enough twists and turns to keep the audience interested.

War Dogs is one of the more surprising offerings this summer, mainly because I was expecting something totally different from the director that gave us the Hangover movies. While not nearly as ambitious or powerful as The Big Short, War Dogs shows that a director can branch out of their comfort zones and deliver quality films. Based on the other films we have seen this summer, directors should do that more often.

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Scott Davis

Scott Davis is a recent graduate of Oakland University where he earned a degree in journalism. He worked for the student newspaper on campus, The Oakland Post, where he became the paper's managing editor. He also earned a minor in Cinema Studies at OU. Scott enjoys all things film and TV related, especially the blockbuster kind. He might be the biggest Christopher Nolan fan you know.

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