Film Review: War Dogs Is A Scary, Good Look Into The Economy of War
War Dogs reveals how lucrative war can be. One of the reasons people believe governments are “war-mongercers” or conspire to consistently enter into war is because the few that make money, make BANK. Enter War Dogs’ David Pakouz (Miles Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) as two twenty-somethings with a mission to quickly rise in the economy of the U.S. War on Terror.
War Dogs is based on true events, which both fascinates and terrifies audiences. It opens with David
representing every twenty-something’s feelings of lostness. He has no idea what he wants from himself or life, which makes his future seem both blank and bleak. Miles Teller makes David a relatable human being, which causes the audience to understand how a “regular, good guy”, massaging Miami’s wealthy to support his pregnant girlfriend, would join Efraim Diveroli in arms dealing.
Jonah Hill steals this film as Efraim. Yes, the movie is good, but Hill’s performance makes it great. The film would not have been as exhilarating or hilarious without him. From his laugh to his blunt, crude jokes, Hill makes Efraim likable even at his worst and convincing even in his lies. Efraim is so charismatic that you do not hate him for his malice. You hate that someone with such humor and smarts wastes it on viciousness. Yet, the world of war is filled with charismatic men, like Bradley Cooper’s Henry Girard, who for his briefness in the film is mysterious and memorable. It is those types of adrenaline personalities that draw and drag David into The Gray Market Opportunity, and to build AEY, Inc: a headlining arms-dealer for the U.S. Army.
David and Efraim instantly gain several millions through AEY, which makes them cockily go for the biggest money-pot in the War in Afghanistan: The Pentagon. If you have seen the tv spots, you can hear Wolf Blitzer claim, “How did two twenty-somethings con the American government?”. Answer: It was too easy. Through basic forgery of documents and a fake confident stride, brought on by smoking weed before their Pentagon meeting, David and Efraim land a 300 million dollar deal to supply ammunition to the Afghanistan militia. This moment in history of when the Pentagon was conned by an ex-masseuse (David) and a drug-addict with no college degree is called The Gray Market Opportunity. These scenes of the film are when the fun Miami Vice, “stick it to the government” vibe quickly fades, and the movie goes from free-balling to intense. Now these young kids are asked to be men, and quickly fail both themselves and their government. Still, what makes War Dogs terrifyingly good is its witness to how the American government fails itself.
War Dogs, directed by Todd Phillips, takes place between 2004 and 2008. Efraim and David boomed like champagne, but for the powerful U.S. government to fall for their bubbles, is crazy. These young men always lied and pulled “fast” ones. They even lied in their tax returns to the Pentagon, and got the job.What?! Moreover, they found this arms deal on a U.S. government “craigslist” website, where anyone can go and place bids to supply arms. Although they did not get away with their corruption for long, they were not caught by American savvy as much an ill-crossing with an Albanian client. Therefore, you have to wonder, this was not so long ago and with the recent hackings of the DNC, has the U.S. government truly risen its security and credibility requirements? The film thrives on this question, that most Americans do not ask, because they do not know how easy it is to “Con the Pentagon”.
