War dogs

Director: Todd Phillips

Writers: Stephen Chin, Todd Phillips

Stars: Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Steve Lantz

Strength: Cast 

Weakness: Direction

Runtime: 114min

Rating: 3.5/5

PLOT: The story of two young men who managed to win a $300 million contract from the Pentagon for supplying arms to the American allies in Afghanistan.

REVIEW: Based on a true story, the initial sequences of the core story reveals Effraim Diveroli and David Packouz starting their arms trading business from the bottom, where they look for demand for arms not fulfilled by the major  suppliers. That is where the story starts to escalate as the duo start gaining reputation in the business and ascend to the next level of arms trading.

The brilliance of the film lies not in the story, but in the performance of the actors, especially Jonah Hill, who delivers a magnificent performance with the portrayal of Efraim Diveroli. Even his peculiar laugh, which is similar to that of a hyena, packs a mix of neediness and obsession, making it very effective for his character. Miles Teller's performance was also noteworthy; portraying the role of David Packouz, the calmer half of the duo, brilliantly. His chemistry with Hill is remarkable and makes for the highlight of the film. 

The story is quite good, however, the monotonous direction by Todd Philips failed to make the movie for a propulsive thriller. It is fairly entertaining, but the narration lacks originality.  

On the whole, "Wardogs" is an enjoyable film with some hiccups in the narration that is somewhat covered for thanks to the likes of Jonah Hill's and Miles Teller's acting prowess. 

Reviewed by Syed Ahnaf Sadeed