Review of War Dogs (2016) by Spangle — 26 Aug 2016
The bro version of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, War Dogs is an occasionally funny yet thoroughly entertaining work from director Todd Phillips. While it is entirely derivative of many other films and, more recently, tries to emulate the success and style of The Big Short, War Dogs is still entertaining in its own right.
Jonah Hill and Miles Teller have good chemistry, while Hill in particular is terrific with his shady charisma. That said, the film never accomplishes its full "let's reveal the crookedness behind the curtains" schtick, nor is it as funny as it may thinks it is.
Other than attempts at making blowjob jokes, War Dogs really has no other comedic tricks up Jonah Hill's fat sleeves, which is unfortunate. That said, it is well told, decently entertaining film even if it falls short of its lofty goals.
Another problem were the intertitles that really seemed out of place and were sort of trying to break the film into "chapters" for no apparent reason. Overall, War Dogs was largely disappointing, even if it was entertaining and Hill's performance is worth the price of admission.
It is a film that had the pieces to be great, but lacked the heart, soul, depth, and originality to do so.
This review of War Dogs (2016) was written by Spangle on 26 Aug 2016.
War Dogs has generally received positive reviews.
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