Review – War Dogs
It takes a wild and crazy director to bring a wild a crazy story to life. War Dogs has both of these things. Director Todd Phillips, known mostly for his comedic work, lends his directorial talents to this incredible true story about two twentysomething stoners (Miles Teller and Jonah Hill) who become international arms dealers.
The story is almost too obscure to be real. But Phillips knows how to handle chaos well and not over do it. This reminded me of what Adam McKay did last year with The Big Short. Both of these directors are known mostly for their comedy, with McKay being a frequent collaborator with Will Farrell on the Anchorman films (2004, 2013) and Step Brothers (2008), and Phillips directing Old School (2003) and The Hangover Trilogy (2009-2013). Both of these directors went away from their usual genre and took on wild, unbelievable stories while also sliding in their humor through out the film. This is easily Phillips best directed film technically. With its quick editing, bright cinematography, and great performances, he’s never had a film this polished.
However, you can tell this is the first time he’s made a film of this magnitude before. There is something missing from the film. A sort of gravitas to the film that would elevate it from good to great. Phillips lets the movie run slightly longer than he needs to, which allows the story to tail off during the second hour, which is a bummer, since the first hour goes at a rapid-fire, kinetic pace that has you glued to the screen the whole time. That’s the biggest difference between Phillip’s effort and McKay’s is that McKay kept the energy coming and the film engaging, where as Phillips loses it.
The performances in the film are really good. Miles Teller continues to build a very diverse and impressive resume playing David Packouz. Packouz, who was a massage therapist in Miami before being roped into the world of gun running, is the emotional center of the movie. He has a wife and a child on the way and is doing what he has to do in order to give them a good living, even if it may not be entirely legal. Jonah Hill is the best part of the movie and Efraim Diveroli. The Scarface-influenced Efraim brings David into this world of guns, drugs, and money. We question the way he does business and see how greed and success takes over his friendship with David. Hill was made for this part. His weight gain, creepily funny laugh, swagger, and insanity all make for a compelling character that keeps the film interesting even when the plot dries out. And, we get a really powerful supporting performance by Bradley Cooper as a blacklisted arms dealer the boys make a deal with.
War Dogs is a huge directorial leap for Todd Phillips. Though it doesn’t keep it’s speed the entire time, it is still a wildly entertaining, fascinating true story, featuring two excellent lead performances from Teller and Hill.
MY RATING – 3/4
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