★★★☆
George W. Bush and his gaffes have given us a lot to work with. War Dogs dives balls deep into the American invasion of Iraq, popping off shots against its satirical targets left and right as it goes.
The film charts the steep ascension of two weed-appreciating American males, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) and David Packouz (Miles Teller), through the mid 2000s, detailing the story of how they scored a $300 million contract to supply the U.S. Army with weapons.
Throughout, wisecracks galore flow from the mouth of comedy golden boy Hill. Though the film is told through the eyes of Packouz, Hill’s Diveroli is a fascinating character. Is he a mastermind, a career criminal or just a bloody intelligent capitalist juggernaut serving his beloved nation? The film refuses to answer such questions, choosing instead to romp and rumble through themes such as the establishment and the loose concept of ‘winning’.
Keenly satirical, the film examines the jackpot mentality of the modern American way. Sure war kills, but when you work out how to score big, do you have the balls to play the game?
The plot sees our ‘heroes’ loose as fuck, driving through Jordan to Baghdad, being chased by militants and surviving the triangle of death, all with their antics soundtracked by the a selection of deep, fantastic cuts. The music comes from sources as varied as Fiddy Cent, Neil Diamond, Pitbull and Leonard Cohen, the tunes bringing with them a dry comedic wit that digs out the deeper laughs festering under all of Hill’s ‘Imma boss mofo arms dealer’ quips.
Essentially the film is about two white, twenty-something males bucking the trend, screwing with the establishment, risking big, succeeding big, playing the game and winning the game, annoying balding older males in the process. Likely as not, if you too are a white, twenty-something male who similarly wants to buck the trend, screw the establishment and succeed (not necessarily in international arms dealing, mind you), you’ll enjoy this film.
While Hill steals the show, Teller does good, solid leading man work as our accessible common man. The cinematography and graphics grip the eye sufficiently, providing a range of tasty morsels to focus on, and the balance between satirising the situation that set the scene for Diveroli and Pouchaz’s exploits while never making them out to be either martyrs or villains is what makes War Dogs a brutally comedic exploration of an absolutely shit war.
War Dogs is in cinemas now
