War Dogs

Inspired by real events, War Dogs follows struggling twentysomething David Packouz (Miles Teller) as he agrees to go into the arms business with an old high school friend (Jonah Hill’s Efraim Diveroli) – with problems ensuing after the pair agree to a government contract that’s more difficult to fulfill than anticipated. It’s clear virtually from the get-go that filmmaker Todd Phillips is looking to transform this true-life tale into a Martin Scorsese-like crime drama, as evidenced by War Dogs‘ less-than-subtle visuals and almost paint-by-numbers rise-and-fall structure. And yet the film generally remains quite watchable (and occasionally engrossing), with Teller and Hill delivering absolutely captivating performances that elevate the proceedings on an impressively regular basis. (Teller’s typically solid work here is often overshadowed by Hill’s scene-stealing turn as the larger-than-life Efraim.) Phillips’ efforts to transform this rather minor story into an epic motion picture ultimately fall flat, however, and it’s increasingly difficult to ignore the slack pacing and proliferation of needless scenes and subplots. (There is, in terms of the latter, an ongoing emphasis on David’s relationship with his increasingly weary girlfriend that contributes little to the overall story.) War Dogs does, in the end, fizzle out to a fairly palpable degree and ultimately should’ve topped out at 90 minutes, with the material’s inherently compelling nature compensating for a thoroughly erratic atmosphere.

**1/2 out of ****