War Meets Wolf of Wall street: Teller and Hill Take On Politics

Rating: 8/10 (19 August 2016)

Robbie K here, starting the weekend off with what elsea movie review. Tonight we jump into the political drama movie that is about our beloved country and those who try to cheat the system to make excessive amounts of cash. So lets bump past the formalities and dive right into my thoughts on War Dogs starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller!
LIKES:  Good chemistry between actors  Interesting story  Comedy is witty
When I saw the trailers for this movie, I shuddered to think of the mess this movie could potentially be. After all, both of the actors (while talented) had not been in any roles that I absolutely loved. Therefore I was nervous to see these cast together and the potential stupidity/annoyance that could have been. To my surprise, these two were great together, having a dynamic relationship that sold the characters to me. Hill's brash, aggressive nature led the charge of the movie, but was able to be toned down by Teller's calm, intelligent, and more mature role. Each one was able to balance the others extremes and certainly felt like two coworkers/friends cheating the system. Once more I say that alone these guys were good, but together they were excellent. While the relationship is certainly the driving force of the movie, the story helps keep the pace and suspense going. The story is exactly as sold in the trailers of two young men giving up their mundane jobs to begin selling weapons across the country. Unlike other gun running movies, this film abandons the frontlines for the bank, and feels much like another rendition of the Wolf of Wall Street. Todd Phillips and his team integrated the lives of our characters well into the story while still adding an edge of threat to keep you wondering what would interfere. The many moving pieces keep one engaged in the movie, and while there were components I felt under developed, had enough detail in each to bring things together. Finally the comedy, I was expecting the comedy to be nothing more than a bunch of one-liners and facial expressions to make the next wave of memes. Truth isthere are plenty of these moments, but surprisingly there is some rather witty dialogue that had me laughing. In particular the banter between the two held plenty of clever insults and jabs at American stereotypes. Hill's character in particular had more lines I found funny, mainly by his delivery, but Teller's responses to those lines also assisted with that factor. All-in-all, the comedy has all of the insult and stupidity you expect, but is delivered so well.
DISLIKES:  Wanted more Ana De Armas moments  The F word and comedic antics getting old  Underdeveloped parts and the ending
My first dislike is the limitation of Ana De Armas' character. I won't lie, she is a beautiful woman and was very nice to have on screen (hey I am human after all). But I also really liked her character and how she drove the morals of the story despite all the corruption in this film. That goodness could have really refreshed the movie at some of the slower parts and they could have injected some more suspense in the film by having her in the film. Perhaps she isn't the most key character in this war/crime drama, but hey it couldn't have hurtI think.
To sound like a broken record, the F word does not equal great dialogue or great writing. Yet Hollywood still can't get that idea through their skulls. War Dogs has moments where it is just one bomb dropped after another, which may not bother you much. Still this reviewer would love the strategic use of the word to maximize its comedy potential, instead of replaying the ploy much like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie. The same can be said for the comedic ploys in this film, some of which are again beaten to death without much remorse. Jonah Hill's laugh (which sounded like a mixture between the joker and a donkey) in particular grew stale to me and was more annoying by the tenth time it escaped its lips. Fortunately, there aren't too many of these stale antics plaguing the riding.
My final limitation was the underdeveloped components of the film. I've already stated the Ana De Armas parts, but there were other components I felt were in need of some fine tuning. The Bradley Cooper character I expected to have a bigger role for the price tag he carries and the way they snuck under the government's nose was a bit far-fetched as well. In addition, the fact that this is all based on a Rolling Stone article left me wondering how much was true and how much of this was Hollywood magic and fantasy. And as for the ending, it is a little lackluster and I would have thought more ploy, drama, and actual footage would have been in the film. Not to mention the final scene was ambiguous and unnecessary.
The VERDICT
War Dogs was much better than I expected and really portrays the actions some may take to make a quick buck. While certainly not the most original or entertaining movie, the engaging characters will keep you entertained and the dialogue will have you laughing. However, these qualities are not enough to recommend a trip to the theater for most of the audience members. Only those with great capitalistic pride and who don't mind American political jabs should venture into this movie, otherwise wait for the Redbox rent.
My scores:
Comedy/Drama/War: 8.0 Movie Overall: 7.0