'War Dogs' doesn't have many thrills
'Dogs' stars Miles Teller and Jonah Hill as childhood friends who improbably become international arms dealers during the Iraq War. It's directed by Todd Phillips.
'War Dogs' stars Miles Teller (l.) and Jonah Hill (r.).
Warner Bros. Pictures/AP
I鈥檓 getting a bit weary of movies 鈥渂ased on a true story鈥� that chronicle big-time scams by sleazeball upstarts. 鈥淭he Wolf of Wall Street鈥� and 鈥淭he Big Short鈥� have now been joined by 鈥淲ar Dogs,鈥� which is about two Miami childhood friends, David Packouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), who improbably become international arms dealers during the Iraq War.
Perhaps the reason we are seeing so many of these movies is because the laggard economy has provided a breeding ground for get-rich-quick escapades featuring unscrupulous bottom feeders. Sure, they get caught in the end, but until then, what a thrill ride!
Except there鈥檚 not much that鈥檚 thrilling here. 鈥淲ar Dogs鈥� 鈥� directed by Todd Phillips and written by him along with Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic, based on a 2011 Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson 鈥� sets up a predictable contrast between the essentially decent but kinda dopey David and the morally bankrupt Efraim. When the awakenings and betrayals set in, it鈥檚 like watching a formula being worked out.
There are a few good scenes, especially one in which the boys and their driver truck a cargo of Berettas across 500 miles of desert to Baghdad, and Jonah Hill has gone from being a cartoonish comic actor to a real one, but 鈥淲ar Dogs鈥� ends up being no better than its protagonists at delivering the goods. Grade: C+ (Rated R for language throughout, drug use and some sexual references.)