War Dogs is directed by Todd Phillips, the director of The Hangover trilogy. It is based on the true story of two young entrepreneurs who ironically got in a lot of trouble selling weapons to the U.S. government.
Jonah Hill plays Efraim Diveroli, a conniving and ambitious character. He specializes in being who ever he thinks he needs to be in order to get what he wants out of others. Miles Teller’s character, David Packouz, could not be more different. Packouz is portrayed as the average naive person, trying to make his way in life despite all his troubles. The two get caught up in a deal made bad by Bradley Cooper’s well played character. This deceptive arms dealer is barred from doing business with the government because of his shady past.
The movie starts out fast paced, explaining the situation of defense contractors in the era just after the no bid contracts of the Bush administration. Leading up to the main conflict of the story, Diveroli and Packouz struggle in an action packed short epic. They have to make it through the infamous Triangle of Death to reach a military outpost in Iraq. After accomplishing the impossible, their company is able to land the contract that gets them into the most peril.
The comedic elements throughout the film are rooted in the absurdity of the situations in which the unlikely duo find themselves. This is because of their relentless drive to accomplish the impossible. The comedy is mostly cynical and occasionally gets a little dark. However, it excellently portrays just how crazy the reality of this true story was.
Overall, War Dogs is a very entertaining movie that any one can relate to while learning a bit about recent history.
Watch the War Dogs movie review by Jeremy Jahns for more.