So yet another Martin Scorsese wannabe? So what? At least it was a good one!

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2016)

Based on a Rolling Stone article, and subsequent book, by Guy Lawson, "War Dogs" tells the improbably true story of how a couple twenty-something meat-heads from Miami gamed the no-bid contract system then-Vice President Dick Cheney put into place to award government contracts. As if you needed any proof that was a terrible plan from the beginning, here come two idiots to prove just how easy it was. Miles Teller stars as David Packouz, a seemingly nice stoner stuck in a dead-end, degrading job, with a baby on the way and no way to support her. Enter his childhood friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), an obvious sociopath and con man with a plan to get rich selling guns through the new no-bid system.
There are a lot of problems with War Dogs, but the performances aren't among them..... Teller is always watchable, and even though David is a bit of a wet noodle, and makes for the most gullible narrator in the history of ever, Teller's charm keeps him interesting enough. But Hill is the real standout, going in literal guns blazing as Efraim. Hill does not shy away from Efraim's excess or his pathetic over-doings, and he embraces Efraim's slimy amorality and turns him into what should be one of the great cinematic scumbags, alongside Tony Montana and Jimmy Conway. And that's the problem. As the film moves towards, sneakingly, wanting to pave its intention to copy "Goodfellas," and eventually does, makes it a waste to a somewhat enjoyable ending. So another Martin Scorsese wannabe? So what? (To be fair, eventually everybody rips Marty's Wiseguys or one of DeNiro's classic off at some point in their career).
At least this was a good one!
The conflict that comes of mouthy, aggressive and woefully under qualified wise-boys-wannabes entering into a world which is clearly more complex than they can instantly comprehend has become a modern dramatic boilerplate – As the American dreamers hammering bureaucratic weak spots for tidy personal gain. Yet where War Dogs offers a cautious celebration of reckless, industrious youth, the film itself is the product of a filmmaker who is utterly unwilling to scavenge for advantageous points of entry. But all that potential is wasted by Phillips' conflicting messages. He wants this to be condemnatory of the "kill or be killed" economic mentality that ruined our economy, but he also wants us to care whether or not David and Efraim are still friends. (It's never clear, at any moment, why we should like Efraim at all, let alone hope he has friends.) He wants to excoriate Bush-era policies, but also revel in bros being bros in the Iraqi desert. And, like The Wolf of Wall Street, the economic commentary is compromised by the glut of wealth porn as the boys revel in their fast-made millions.
Perhaps fans might have hoped for more comedic moments in "War Dogs." Because of Jonah Hill's comedic history (as well as that of Miles Teller), it could easily have been utilised more, which would have strengthened the character development between Efraim and David.
Aside from its more obvious predecessors, War Dogs also takes a superficial, but interesting look at the cultural legacy of Brian De Palma's Scarface. Hill's Efraim Diveroli mounts a giant screen-cap canvas of Al Pacino wielding his "little friend" on the wall of his office like a moral totem. He references the film, claiming that the pair are akin to high-rolling gangsters, getting things done like money-making machines, leaving the ethics of their endeavour for someone else to deal with. Phillips constantly finds ways to let his heroes of the hook, always taking their semantic swerving at face value. He is loath to just let their criminal conniving be judged as such. There's always the sense that this film will only work if an audience believes that the scampi-sh wars dogs themselves are full- bore idiots, and not pathetic bottom-feeders in hand-me-down cabana wear.
And in the tradition of Scarface, Goodfellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street—so basically, all the classic American Scumbag movies — with a dash of The Big Short thrown in for a falsely moralising ending, War Dogs is a sweaty, bro-y, barely even sheepish celebration of Bush- era amorality dressed in coke and cash that squanders a brilliant scumbag performance from Jonah Hill, Miles Teller and a very watchable Bradley Cooper. What more could you ask for? Watch it, it's pretty good if you're in the mood and maybe even better if you're new to the genre.