An energetic and fun gun-running trip

Rating: 7/10 (21 August 2016)

With one of those true life stories that you'd never believe had it not actually happened at its disposal, Old School and The Hangover director Todd Phillips and his capable duo of Miles Teller (in need of a hit) and the scenery chewing Jonah Hill (going all method on us) make War Dogs an entertaining and quick-fire experience that shines a light on an interesting aspect of White House law and how strange our modern warfare has become.
A dark comedy filled to the brim with deplorable and colourful characters, language and drug addled life lessons, War Dogs is one of those somewhat uneasy hybrids that flirts the line between becoming and out and out drama or an outright comedy and while Phillips at times finds his directional abilities tested in a tale that has a number of different aspects going on at any one time the story of best friends turned gun running business partners David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli is brought to life by Teller and Hill thanks to their considerable talents and the two actors know doubt elevate the material at their disposal to another level.
The talents of these two performers has been evident in such tales as Whiplash, The Spectacular Now, The Wolf of Wall Street and Moneyball and while War Dogs won't be going down on their all-time greatest list and Hill has a tendency to take things a little too far (his Efraim is a nigh on irremediably arrogant creature and his laugh is a little much) the two work up a good cooperation on screen and when they're both doing their thing from a near suicidal gun run through the Iraq wastelands or conducting a government meeting while far from clear headed, War Dogs is a film owned by the actors.
Who would've thought that two mid 20 year old's with a tendency for drugs, alcohol and massages could've become arms dealers for the United States Government but War Dogs makes good use of its bizarre yet true story and while the film isn't as smart as it perhaps thinks it is, this is a fun and breezy experience that would make for a great double bill with the underrated Nichols Cage starrer Lord of War.
3 ½ golden grenades out of 5