Jonah Hill and Miles Teller are weapons in their own right…
From the director of “The Hangover” trilogy comes the true story of Efraim Diveroli (Hill) and David Packouz (Teller). Two childhood friends who are now in their twenties working together to obtain obscure weapons contracts for the Pentagon on the black market. Efraim and David are reunited at a friends’ funeral, while reminiscing Packouz unveils to Diveroli that he is unhappy with the direction of his professional life. As a friend Efraim decides to help David, showing him the ropes and financial upside of international arms dealing, soon the pair become business partners.
It is refreshing to get a war film that has a different take, most films on combat are shocking, depressing, and negative much like the true horrors of life and death situations. “War Dogs” gives you a behind the scenes look at the real world cost to outfit our soldiers (roughly $17,500 per soldier) and that is just the beginning. From guns to grenades to rocket launchers these characters sell them all. While this film seems like it has a complicated premise, Phillips does a masterful job of dumbing it down so audiences with no background in business or military weaponry can follow right along.
Jonah Hill does a compelling job depicting the man behind the operation Efraim. We have all come to know Jonah Hill as a comedic star but he shows off his range in “War Dogs” and should be taken seriously for future widespread roles. Miles Teller does a good job aside Hill as David. Teller is also known as being an upcoming star thanks to the “Divergent” series and a few other comedies. Hill does most of the comedic heavy lifting as the film focuses around Teller and his characters’ family. Teller is believable as a serious family man but would have liked to see him throw in a few jokes.
This film was marketed as a comedy, while it won’t have you laughing out of your seat it will keep the laughs at a brisk pace for the rest of the action and drama. A few of the details about minor characters can be seen as plot holes but they don’t deter the audience enough to disconnect from the major characters. An entertaining and educational film with enough laughs and serious moments to be considered one of the best all-around movies of the summer.
ROASTED RIPPER SCORE – B+
(7.8/10 Crumbs)