War Dogs

This film tells the story of a message therapist who goes broke because his business venture of selling luxury bed sheets does not work out. He is recruited by his childhood friend to make big money by bidding on military contracts.

"War Dogs" touches on a mysterious aspect of the world which is not often talked about. Therefore, the story is already intriguing, and I want to find out what happens to the two guys. What they do might seem questionable to some, and their subsequent success gives much food for thought. The ending makes you think and reflect on the fine line between right and wrong; and how people can get caught up in their successes. Another god aspect is that despite the subject matter, the story manages to be funny yet still remains dramatic enough to be taken seriously. I enjoyed watching it.

Right off the bat the best part of this movie is the acting: Teller and Hill have great chemistry on screen. Jonah does a particularly good job at playing the "guy you love to hate". I can't attest to the faithfulness of their portrayal of the real life people since I don't know anything about them. The rest of the cast does a great job as well.

The marketing for this movie was, unfortunately, deceitful: the trailer made it out to be this upbeat, funny, over the top comedy - which it's not. In reality the movie has a much slower pace, not a lot of situational humor and is certainly not filled with hilarious quips (the bulk of which are in the trailer). This is not to say that the movie was bad or not at all funny, it just wasn't what I expected (and I am sure I'm not alone).

My final critique will go unnoticed for the majority of viewers but I found it personally offensive so I have to report it: some of the movie takes place in Albania, only the set for Albania is actually Romania. Which is fine, I understand that they probably did this for practical reasons and as a Romanian movie goer I just have to accept it (we all recognized it immediately though). However, at some point in the movie an "Albanian" woman says something, only she says it in Romanian. This may not seem like much but it totally took me out of the movie and ruined the experience for me. I find it completely unacceptable that they could not hire an Albanian to say those few lines. The two languages might seem interchangeable to the rest of the world, I am sure, but that was very much NOT the case for me and everyone else in the theater.

I am a paying movie goer as well and I expect to be just as entertained as everyone else. This is, of course, not the first time that I've seen this in a film. But when a producer does something like this it shows me that they don't respect their movie, so they can't expect me to.

My rating, however, is not based on this final bit of criticism. I gave it a 7/10 for slow pacing and lack of humor, which is the opposite of what I expected.

I'd still recommend it, just don't expect to be blown away.

After watching it for a second time I decided to change my original rating from 7/10 to 8/10, mainly because the acting is just great and I respect the fact that the movie made me think about it and made me want to see it again.

It's 2005 Miami. David Packouz (Miles Teller) is struggling as a masseuse. He reconnects with childhood friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill). Efraim has been buying guns from police auctions and reselling them online. There is a new government clearing house website for military contracts and he's looking to pick up some of the crumbs. David joins him after getting girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) pregnant. With dry cleaner Ralph Slutsky (Kevin Pollak) providing the capital, they start getting some contracts. Eventually, they meet unsavory arms dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) and get a massive Afghan deal.

This is unlike Todd Phillips' more famed comedic movies. It's not big laughs but it is a lighter look at a darker world. Jonah Hill gets chubbier to fit this character perfectly. He is a douche but he is not a threatening douche. He has just enough crazy but not uncontrolled. His chemistry with Teller is terrific. This is a compelling story told in a compelling and engaging way. It's great all around and an overlooked gem.

War Dogs is based on a true story where two twenty somethings sell arms back to the US government. Jonah Hill and Mills Teller put up a great performance, they made the story very appealing. The storyline had plenty of connections with Scarface, from locations to tag lines. It was a good movie with a great cast. Definitely worth watching.

The movie starts off narrated, interesting and very cohesive. They do a great job of introducing characters and foreshadowing what is later to come. The characters are very well developed and their relationship especially at the start is funny and light hearted. The acting is great if you like films like "superbad" and "neighbour's".

The plot itself is based off a true story and is really interesting from start to finish. The action is great with slight comedy here and there. It has very wolf of wall street vibes and is a thrill ride.

When Bradley Cooper gets involved there is a lot of mystery and suspense. You really don't know whats gonna happen and your interest becomes even greater. The contract part was extremely predictable. The ending was very weird, without spoiling it, someone goes to jail for what seems a really short amount of time considering the crime. Then someone gets given money which is somewhat satisfying. But you really don't get a feeling of revenge or justice.

Summary: Overall I was really surprised at how good this was. Its not just your average comedy. It has great characters, acting, story, and is a blast to watch. Highly recommended.