War Dogs stars Jonah Hill and Miles Teller and tells the shocking true story of how two young men managed to manipulate the weapons trade to their advantage and have their small business spiral out of control. The film is directed by The Hangover trilogy's Todd Phillips and showcases the great acting of its two leads, particularly Hill, who plays a truly slimy and hilarious scam artist to perfection. While War Dogs does have stretches where the pace screeches to halt and the melodrama seeps in, much to the viewers dismay, it still is genuinely exciting and entertaining for the majority of its runtime. It has elements of the Wolf of Wall Street that are hard to ignore, aside from Jonah Hill, and is perhaps a little too excessive at times, but again, I found the movie to be funny and enjoyable and could excuse a monotonous final act.
"There are sequences where the comedy flies around in a way that is both blissful in its playfulness and biting in its criticism. But these moments of cinematic splendor are far and in between, and perhaps front-loaded in the film's runtime. "
War Dogs benefits from having an intriguing, and relevant, premise. Teller's portrayal is solid as David Packouz, and the film's narrator, is solid. Jonah Hill really stands out as Efraim Diveroli, an unhinged, maniacally laughing arms dealer with virtually no moral compass. He is both easy to laugh at and hate, making his performance a stand out in this film. War Dogs gets off to a quick start, moving briskly and quickly through a very entertaining, and relevant plot line. It swiftly establishes the great chemistry between its stars, and the narrative kicks into gear relatively early into the runtime, which is always nice considering how many movies like to meander and waste time with exposition. The snappy dialogue and absurdity of the premise are where War Dogs succeeds. Its story about how two young men are able to manipulate the U.S. military's weapon contract system is relevant, and the film makes sure to be very biting in its criticism of the system. This film is shot well and has something to say, and most importantly, is entertaining. There are sequences where the comedy flies around in a way that is both blissful in its playfulness and biting in its criticism. But these moments of cinematic splendor are far and in between, and perhaps frontloaded in the film's runtime. The late second, early third, acts are derailed by the film's self seriousness. War Dogs stops being fun and takes time to reflect on the weight of its message and the consequences of Diveroli's and Packouz's actions. This isn't a problem, per see, but it is executed in such a monochrome way that it detracts from the movie as a whole.
War Dogs, while fast paced and enjoyable for the majority of its runtime, does endure spans of muddled focus and tediousness. Its nearly derailed by a complete tonal shift and melodrama worthy of a Lifetime movie, but manages to get back on track for a solid, albeit predictable, finale. Bradley Cooper has an entertaining character role in this film, and contributes a great deal of humor and suspense. Overall, War Dogs, at the very worst, is a film that showcases great acting and has a very interesting and relevant story to tell, but is far from perfect in terms of polish and execution.