War Dogs Review
War Dogs Review – Jack Fitzpatrick
Have you ever seen a movie that has you feeling excited due to just how great it was? The moment you stand up from your cinema seat, the credits rolling (Or the credits have finished because you’re one of those people who stay… Sorry but I just don’t… Respect to you if you do though!) and you feel that rush? Finally, “Something to talk about.” You might think to yourself. Finally, “The next good one!” You might have last felt it during last year’s Oscar contenders, during other recent releases such as ‘Zootopia,’ ‘The Nice Guys’ or the latest ‘Marvel’ entry… Or maybe you hate all of those or didn’t enjoy them as much as I did and perhaps haven’t felt something like this for a much longer time.
Well for me, ‘War Dogs’ was one of those movies. And maybe it is for you too.
So the major aspect to this movie that’s either going to pull you in right off the bat or push you the hell out of the cinema is that this is very much in vain of a classic gangster movie. The very structure of the film is alike films such as ‘Goodfellas‘ as well as ‘Scarface’ being a blatantly obvious inspiration – Due to some not-so-subtle imagery and references throughout.
That being said it reminded me of so many different, but great films mixed in to one. It has elements of ‘The Social Network’ due to characters building to something bigger than they ever thought they would, it was reminiscent to ‘Fight Club’ due to the macho based friendship/rivalry between its leads and it reminded me of ‘The Big Short’ due to its (sort of) comedic tone and stylishly quick paced writing that happens to be both pretty unbelievable as well as based on a true story.
This however highlights one (Of very few) main problems; You have seen movies like this before. You’ve heard biopic voice overs and you’ve seen crime films. Nevertheless, there’s no denying the execution is superb and the movie still manages to be somewhat original despite its inherent structure and the fact that these things did happen in reality – To a degree, I’m sure.
So the movie basically follows these two young guys who are looking to get rich quick. And who can’t relate to that desire in at least one point in their life?
In the beginning of the film Jonah Hill’s character Efraim Diveroli dabbles in arms dealing and makes good money off of it, soon enough he introduces Miles Teller’s David Packouz to a life of money, crime and danger and the two build something bigger than they thought possible.
Now there is something about these two actors that some people have a problem with – Miles Teller probably due to some mediocre film choices such as of course the infamous ‘Fantastic 4′ and Jonah Hill perhaps because he’s become somewhat typecast as “The funny – sometimes kind of fat, sometimes not – foulmouthed” …Guy and so some people might not take him too seriously.
However, I’d argue that we’ve all seen Whiplash and there is no doubt that Teller can pull off a good performance, and Hill has been in some more serious and dramatic roles in films such as ‘Money Ball’ and ‘Funny People.’ (Despite that still being comedic.)
Well, either way – If you do dislike these actors, I’d argue that they definitely earned to redeem their infamy in War Dogs. The actors constantly prove themselves throughout with their performances which go from ‘human’ to completely over the top seamlessly and realistically. Hill plays a fantastic ‘loose cannon’ type, he’s loud, rude and likes to be known as a guy that ‘doesn’t take shit from anyone.’ He’s the kind of guy that you honestly hate, but in a way – want to be. You never really fully trust him and you never like* him per se, but there’s no denying that he possesses this sort of powerful charisma at the same time.
And Teller plays the straight man, it’s more of a toned down, nuanced performance but Teller plays it well. Proving once again that he is capable to carry a film. You buy in to his growth as a character, and you’re always interested to see where he’ll go next.
Bradley Cooper also has a very brief cameo, it’s small and scattered throughout however manages to also remain a pretty effect performance – It’s not a character that he would normally play and it’s interesting to see him in a bit of a different light.
All such roles are embedded in (And forgive me for using this term, I do not like it but…) Male arrogance. There is this certain egotism to each character, they all want to be more “man” than the others; They want to make more money, or be more powerful or what-have-you and it’s an interesting dynamic between them. This aspect sort of reminded me of the film ‘Rush.’ Which is far, far from being a bad thing.
Themes of greed and ambition are heavy throughout the films run-time and its inclusions such as these that make the film relatable despite it’s fairly grey morals; We don’t exactly like or agree with what the characters are doing, but we completely understand why they are doing it. We know that some of their actions will most likely cause trouble or danger, but we still sit there thinking ‘Yeah, that makes sense. Go do that.’
And while these aren’t ‘good’ people, the film undoubtedly has a fascinating story that’s worth telling… Miles Telling… Ok that was dumb. Moving on.
The film has a fantastic mix of drama – Mostly between its leads – And tension – One notable scene is that part that you might have seen in the trailer where they are sitting in the truck while the enemy cars are approaching from the distance… That is an intense scene!
The movie is split up into different segments which cut to and from a black screen with a quote from the movie that hasn’t happened yet. I found it super intriguing to read a cool line from the movie, and then learning the context of how and why they get to saying it later in the film. This also made for some very memorable lines due to experiencing (and dwelling on them) twice.
The film, while not EXACTLY being a comedy, it is still full of many, many comedic moments. Clever, satirical humor is consistently scattered throughout the entirety of the film while it still remains mature and a film to be taken seriously. We laugh with the film, not at it. In the end though, this is a VERY funny movie and honestly this is one of the best things that the movie has going for it… Just don’t go in expecting* a comedy.
The film was also sort of educational. That sounds sort of silly when you put it like that however the film lends an insightful look on arms dealing, war, business and most importantly; money. You might not be expecting it, but you might learn a thing or two while watching War Dogs too.
I loved War Dogs. It is easily one of my favorite movies of the year so far and have little doubt that it’ll end up being on my top 10 list of 2016. It’s go as far in calling the movie a ‘modern masterpiece.’ In my opinion, it definitely deserves a watch and to be remembered. But I’m interested to see what the general consensus is, because so far I haven’t heard that much hype about it. If something like The Big Short can manage to be an Oscar winner, I’d argue that War Dogs could (And should) be too. But for some reason I have a feeling that this won’t happen, and that this movie won’t be as appreciated by others as it is by me. I guess time will tell.
War Dogs was fantastic.
