By Eduardo A. Viera
A movie about greedy people doing greedy things and living a greedy lifestyle. A few years ago, I would’ve called a movie with that premise The Wolf of Wall Street. Today, the movie is called War Dogs.
I - Story
To explain the story better, the movie revolves around two American men making their fortune selling guns to the United States at the start of the Iraq War. And how does that play out during 2 hour movie? Not horribly, I’ll tell you that. This is not a deep story, but it doesn’t feel dragged out either. Not only that, but director Todd Phillips (The Hangover Trilogy) tells the story in an engaging, innovative way, something I’ve never quite seen in the movie format and won’t spoil today.
The only problem with the story/storytelling is that it reminded me too much of Wolf of Wall Street… but not as epic. It even follows the same format. As a man who loved the former movie, this would be great, but this movie (and probably no other movie ever) reaches the crazy amounts of a drug-fuelled Jordan Belfort.
II - Chemistry and Characters
The most important part of any movie with two leads is their chemistry. Do Jonah Hill and Miles Teller have said chemistry? Nope, not at all. The problem is that Jonah Hill is too good an actor, and completely steals every scene he is in. Every time he appeared, no one really cared about Miles Teller anymore, in part because of Jonah Hill’s over the top character and because Miles Teller’s character isn’t really interesting either. Props to Jonah Hill, who increasingly shows his range as an actor, and only furthering said range with this movie. While he was playing the nerdy supporting actor for Leonardo DiCaprio in Wolf of Wall Street, he was Leonardo DiCaprio this time around. And he excelled at it.
The breakout star of this movie is a little known actress called Ana de Armas. Never heard or seen her before, right? She’s Cuban-American, has the most beautiful eyes and played Miles Teller’s girlfriend. If this movie becomes a box office success, I’m sure we’ll keep seeing more of her in the time to come.
III - Entertainment Value
Finally, this movie is being advertised as an action/comedy kind of deal. And for once (unlike its main competitor this weekend Suicide Squad) you get what you see. You can never go wrong with Jonah Hill and he provides the best and funniest parts of the movie. Although you won’t be bursting out laughing like in Sausage Party, it is a fun ride and it keeps you entertained. Unfortunately, the trailers do offer some of the best scenes and so if you’re planning on watching this movie, avoid the trailers between now and then.
To finish, this movie gives another view to war. For those who saw Lord of War, you’d enjoy this movie as well. This is the problem though: if you’re looking for action, Suicide Squad offers better action. Sausage Party offers funner times. This is a nice mixture, but unfortunately not the best of the lot.
No comments :
Post a Comment