War Dogs

Jonah Hill and Miles Teller star in this story of two young American arms dealers tasked with arming the Afghanistan allied forces for America. The film begins with David Packouz, played by Miles Teller, being discontented with his current life as a Miami massage therapist and after a failed business venture selling high quality Egyptian cotton sheets, meets his old high school best friend Efraim Diveroli at a funeral. Efraim Diveroli, played by Jonah Hill, runs his own company (AEY) which accepts arms contracts from the US government and offers David a job working for him. Although firmly against America’s war in Afghanistan, David accepts the job after a surprise revelation from his girlfriend Iz, leading to the film’s main events. Jonah Hill performance shines as Efraim Diveroli throughout the film and his rotund, loud character and disturbing laugh makes serval great moments throughout the 114-minute run time. The film however also doesn’t avoid raising issues of the real life duo’s grey-market dealings and the state of American military’s arms policy in 2005. Director Todd Philips (The Hangover Trilogy) offers a unique vision on the classic American rags to riches story with plenty of laughs along the way and also includes a fittingly great soundtrack of classic rock and hip-hop. Overall War Dogs delivers a sound comedy and story with Jonah Hill’s performance and character making the film a memorable and fun journey, exploring the real-life shady doings of the two young friends.

Christopher Greenland