[Movie Review] War Dogs (2016)
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Stephen Chin (screenplay), Todd Phillips (screenplay)
Runtime: 114 min
Main Cast:
- Miles Teller as David Packouz
- Jonah Hill as Efraim Diveroli
Review: by Mia
When I first saw the trailer for this film, I was excited most by the casting of the leads. Both actors are accomplished in the comedy genre and I was looking forward to seeing how they managed to play such different yet mutually hilarious personalities off of one another. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the plot. This was the first time I had ever heard of the War Dog occupation that set up the premise of the film. Still, I was looking forward to the plot being more thriller than comedy based on the premise alone. I wasn’t necessarily expecting explosions and gun fights, but I was hoping to see some mystery and betrayal and dark twists. Bradley Cooper, playing the casual yet intimidating Henry Girard, gave me even more hope that the plot would go this route. My main reason for being interested in this film was definitely Miles Teller. I am a long-time fan of his and will volunteer to see anything he plays in be it a romance, drama, or action film. If you find that like him as well, I would encourage you to not only catch this film but others such as Whiplash, which is a great movie. Miles Teller has a great film presence that lends an unexpected suaveness to his characters. I was hoping to see that same presence in action in this film where he played against the humor of Jonah Hill.
Jonah Hill has managed to keep his comedy right on the fence of risky yet hilarious every time I have watched him. I was hoping to see how he executed that as the mastermind behind this duo’s arms dealing business.
The film begins with Miles Teller’s character, David Packouz, struggling to come to terms with his mid-twenties career as a Massage Therapist with mostly old white men for clients. He got paid more than most people do in office jobs for his work, yet something about the occupation made him feel less than successful. He takes his entire savings and attempts to start his own business selling Egyptian cotton sheets to Retirement homes across the state, only to find that they may not have been the most lucrative business venture to place his entire financial future on.
In the midst of this financial crisis, his Junior High best friend returns to town and rekindles their bromance. David is then informed by his live-in girlfriend that they are expecting and his self-deprecation reaches its highest yet. Seeing the crisis that his friend is in, Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), offers his struggling friend a partner position within his expanding company AEY. AEY is a company that uses a fairly recent Government contracting site for weapons to profit off providing weapons to the American military based off of open bid contracts to weapons suppliers. They find the smaller contracts that big government suppliers overlook, and take on these contracts to make a quick few hundred thousand dollars for themselves and their silent business partner.
With both of them putting their efforts towards finding good contracts, the company quickly earns a reputation that allows them more profits, mostly after a perilous trip to Baghdad that leaves them blindly volunteering and surviving near death circumstances. Their contracts getting bigger and their contacts get riskier, until they find themselves blurring the lines between legal arms supplier and illegal arms dealing to the US Government. Throughout this spiral into a criminal career, David is learning more and more that Efraim may not be someone worth trusting. When they team up with Henry Girard, an arms dealer well known for his connections and supply, but also well known for his place on the terrorist Watch List, David begins to wonder how much he should risk with his family to think of and a best friend who will use anyone to get paid. He attempts to cover himself by signing an official partner contract before heading off to complete their biggest contract yet that could make them a multi-million dollar business.
Still things spiral further down as their friendship crumbles and their risky business dealings begin to put them on the radar of the FBI. People die, families fall apart, and David is left wondering why he is risking so much for the business when Efraim chooses to ignore every warning against a risk he gives. I won’t spoil the ending, but let’s just say that the two of them receive the punishment given to the most affluent and are not on good terms. Henry Girad, who went from savior and supplier to intimidator and attempted murderer again shifts to another role as he tracks down David after everything is said and done (going to have to watch to find out).
Summary
Personally, I really liked this movie. It had its unpredictable moments and the humor from Jonah Hill really worked with the plot. His character was a pretty horrible person, which was interesting compared to his usual roles and he played the crazed and manipulative character well. Miles Teller was a great narrator and protagonist pitted against the circumstances he got himself into as well as the people he aligned himself with. The movie developed his character well. He was a man who accepted what came his way without considering the consequences until it was too late…but in doing so he made a lot of money right until the end. People have ended off much worse than he had by the end of his narrative. I loved the ending. It was a great dialogue between Henry Girard and David Packouz. I definitely would recommend watching this film to form your own opinion of the many twists and turns the business of being a War Dog took the two main characters down.
User Review
( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
