War Dogs is an American drama/comedy based upon real events. However, after doing some research, the film is only very loosely based upon real events. The film was directed by Todd Phillips and written by Jason Smilovic and Stephen Chin which was originally based upon an article written in Rolling Stone Magazine by Guy Lawson.

Cast:

Originally Jesse Eisenberg and Shia LeBeouf were set to star in the leading roles, but after casting, Jonah Hill and Miles Teller were eventually awarded the leading roles. 

Jonah Hill

Miles Teller

Ana de Armas

Bradley Cooper

Kevin Pollak

Patrick St. Esprit

There are several other lesser known names that make up the top characters in the film but these were the headline names and roles. 

Plot:

The film starts out by introducing us to David Packouz (Teller). He is a young 20-something who works as a massage therapist to the mostly retired community of Miami Florida. He gets a great idea of selling higher quality bed sheets to the elderly retirement homes as he believes they deserve a better quality of sheet. Although most of the House Managers agree with the need for better sheets, not a single one is willing to spring for them from their small budget. David should have probably polled them before he spent his life savings on all these bed sheets...

Now, David is loaded with high quality bed sheets but no one to sell them to. Realizing his massive mistake he starts desperately trying to find a way to earn some extra income to make up for his blunder. Right about this time he runs into Efram Diveroli, an old high school friend. Efram had been working with his uncle selling military weapons for years out in California, but had since moved back and started his own company. He wanted David to come work with him...

At first David doesn't want to get involved with selling weapons because he is against wars and violence in general. However, after seeing very little other options and seeing exactly how much money they can make together David quickly signs up to join Efram. 

David knows his girlfriend would never go along with such a job, so he tells her that he will be working with Efram selling his bed sheets to various government agencies. She is very excited for him and informs him that he is now providing for 3 as she is a couple months pregnant. This brings some added pressure and added incentive for David to make as money as quickly as possible. 

Everything starts out well for David and Efram as they are able to place bids on government military contracts that other companies have passed over because they are too small for them to waste their time on. They are earning thousands of dollars on each contract and the money starts slowly pilling up. However, things take a drastic turn in their favor when they see a rather large military contract that others are not going to be able to fill as quickly or as cheaply as they are that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Their take alone would be in the millions...

However, this lucrative contract is the start of their troubles. The shipment of weapons gets blocked on its original route, so they decide to reroute through a different country. The shipment gets held up there as well. Leaving them no other option, they decide they are going to have to make the trip to the Middle East and drive the weapons across the border, themselves. Something no other business in their line of work would do. This would be highly dangerous but also give them a huge leg up on the competition. What ensues is a wild ride full of danger, humor, riches, and a great story for it's viewers. 

I won't go into any more of the plot here. If you would like to know what happens next, you will just have to see the film. :)

Reception:

The film has received mixed reviews since it's release from critics and viewers alike. Critics often claiming that the film deviates too much from the original story and doesn't shine enough light on the terribleness of it's central characters. One Critic summed up his thoughts on the film very succinctly with:

"War Dogs is a film about horrible people refusing to own their horribleness."

Average viewers seem to have a more favorable view of the film in general than the critics. Rotten tomatoes has a 60% approval rating while IMDB rates it as 7.1/10. They cite it's enjoyable humor with it's unbelievable story combining for a very enjoyable experience. 

Financially the film has done very well. While only having a budget of $40 million, the film has currently grossed close to $90 million making it a financial success. 

My Review:

I thought the film was pretty good. It reminded me a lot of the movie Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage. Although on a smaller scale and slightly more humorous. 

It would have been interesting to see Eisenberg and LeBeouf play the lead roles, but I felt the actors did an outstanding job convincing the audience that they really could be the people that they are playing. Jonah Hill in particular plays these types of roles so well that I genuinely believe these types of roles might not be too far off from his real life personality. If he had not become an actor I feel like he might be involved in one of these types of schemes in real life. 

The story itself was outstanding. It is part American Dream, part scam. Which maybe to some people that is a part of the American Dream, make as much money as possible, no matter the means. I was a little disappointed to find out exactly how much of the film was made up or parts were taken from other events. I felt like the story was crazy enough that it would have been entertaining in it's own right without the added elements.

For example the part about Efram and David driving through the country of Iraq to deliver the weapons came from an entirely different story. They didn't actually do that and they didn't actually have a military escort in the process as the movie portrays. However, the film was done very well for what it was intended to be. A wild ride with lots of entertainment. 

Overall I would rate this film an 8/10.

It was better than I expected it to be as I had really no expectations going into the film. It was a fun enjoyable ride in the way that a lot Jonah Hill's movies are. It probably wouldn't be a film for the whole family but there wasn't as many crude things as you might think considering the context. Overall I think it is one that is definitely worth watching. If nothing else it might give you a few new business ideas of your own that you might not have known existed before. ;)

Live well my friends!

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Dogs_(2016_film)

Image Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2005151/mediaindex?ref_=tt_ov_mi_sm

Follow: @jrcornel

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