Review of War Dogs (2016) by Kj P — 17 Aug 2016

Road Trip meets Zero Dark Thirty. After the release of The Hangover in 2008, director Todd Phillips has been on the decline, as far as his theatrical film resume goes. Releasing the lukewarm Due Date and two unnecessary sequels to The Hangover, it was unclear if Phillips would give in to Hollywood in all the wrong ways, or eventually gain traction once again. I can now say, without any hesitation, that Todd Phillips is back. War Dogs marks his ninth directorial debut, and if any film was going to show his new found range as a director, it was this. The Hangover is easily Phillips' best work to date, but putting comedy aside, here is why I believe War Dogs to possibly be his best overall film.

While it would be a false statement to categorize War Dogs as a straight up comedy, like most of the directors previous work, it does have its fair share of gags, while still remaining true to the serious (true) story at hand. It is without question that most true stories are altered when translated to the big screen, but film is subjective and one can't judge whether or not a film is good, solely on facts alone. If it is a well-made and well-intentioned film, that is all that matters. As I was viewing this picture, I found myself wondering if 100% of this actually happened, and the reality is that this film is probably only half accurate, so I will refrain from studying the backstory on this one.

Following David Packouz (Miles Teller) as he bumps into his old high school friend, Efraim Diveroli, little does he know that he is about to leave behind his boring lifestyle to become a globally known, international arms dealer. Lying to his girlfriend, just after finding out she is pregnant, David embarks on this journey to gain the money necessary to establish a great life for himself. Driving the guns into Iraq themselves, getting involved in black market deals, and eventually spiralling out of control, both physically and mentally, there lives very quickly become hectic. War Dogs is filled with a very serious story, while also choosing to give quite a bit of levity through the very believable performances by Jonah Hill and Miles Teller.

While I must say that after the casting announcement that Todd Phillips would be directing a film a little out of his wheelhouse, starring the likes of Miles Teller and Jonah Hill in the leading roles, I have never been more turned off. There was nothing that proved these two could share any believable on-screen chemistry, but I was rapidly shot down as soon as their first scene together in the film took place. Jonah Hill being the untrustworthy businessman and Miles Teller being the vulnerable family man, ended up making for some very funny, fast-moving, and sometimes sentimental scenes. Having Bradley Cooper appear in the film was just the icing on the cake. Having worked with this director quite a few times in the past, it was without a doubt going to be a great fit for the film. Although he is not on screen much, his presence only added to the talent that was already present.

I have been raving about everything this film was able to accomplish, but there are a few moments that could have been trimmed down or cut out in my opinion. There are a few instances where characters repeat lines of dialogue, almost verbatim, of something that was noted in a previous scene. While I was able to get past that, certain scenes began to slightly drag, making the film feel a little longer than it should have felt. This is solely due to the overuse of drilling the audience with the thoughts of the characters. You could already tell what was motivating each individual character and why they were doing what they were doing, but it almost felt like a portion of the dialogue was spoon-feeding its audience. Aside from that, I believe this film does everything right that it sets out to accomplish, in spades.

War Dogs may not be a classic, but for director Todd Phillips, it should be remembered as one of his best. Going a little out of his comfort zone with the comedy aspect, he tackles a far more serious story, giving audiences a taste of the variety he is capable of. In the end, I do not think this is a perfect film, but it is a very, very well-made one. With great performances all around, believable, yet crazy scenarios, and unbelievable chemistry between its two leads, I must say that I am far more impressed with this film than I was hoping to be. Still, I can't go as far as to say I loved it, but it is a very enjoyable time at the movies and I would recommend it to anyone who loves an engaging story, with a taste of some great gags sprinkled throughout. War Dogs is great!