''War Dogs'' is a 2016 American

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

crime film directed by

Todd Phillips Todd Phillips (né Bunzl, born December 20, 1970) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He began his career in 1993 and directed films in the 2000s such as ''Road Trip (film), Road Trip'', ''Old School (film), Old School'', ...

and written by Phillips,

Jason Smilovic Jason Smilovic is an American writer and executive producer, as well as the creator of the television series ''Karen Sisco'', ''Kidnapped'', '' My Own Worst Enemy'', and ''Condor''. He also wrote the film ''Lucky Number Slevin''. Smilovic gradua ...

and Stephen Chin, based on a 2011 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' article by

Guy Lawson Guy Lawson (born 26 January 1963) is a Canadian American journalist and true crime writer who has been published in Harper's, '' GQ'', the ''New York Times'', and ''Rolling Stone''. Early life and career Lawson was born in Toronto, Canada t ...

, as well as

Efraim Diveroli Efraim Diveroli (born December 20, 1985) is an American former arms dealer and author. His company, AEY Inc., was a major weapons contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense. The U.S. government suspended AEY for violating its contract afte ...

's 2016 memoir ''Once a Gun Runner'' as outlined in an ongoing lawsuit. Lawson then wrote a 2015 book, ''Arms and the Dudes'', detailing the story. The film follows two arms dealers,

and

David Packouz David Mordechai Packouz ( born February 16, 1982) is an American former arms dealer, musician and inventor. In 2005, Packouz joined Efraim Diveroli in Diveroli's arms company AEY Inc. By the end of 2006, the company had won 149 contracts wor ...

, who receive a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

contract to supply ammunitions for the Afghan National Army worth approximately $300 million. The film, which has an

unreliable narrator An unreliable narrator is a narrator whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in fiction and film, and range from children to mature characters. The term was coined in 1961 by Wayne C. Booth in ''The Rhetoric of Fiction''. While unr ...

, is heavily fictionalized and dramatized, and some of its events, such as the duo driving through

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

, were either invented or based on other events, such as screenwriter Stephen Chin's own experiences. The film stars

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad'' (2007), '' Knocked Up'' (2007), '' 21 Jump Street'' (2012), '' This Is the End'' (201 ...

Miles Teller Miles Teller (born February 20, 1987) is an American actor. He played a jazz drummer in '' Whiplash'' and a supporting pilot in '' Top Gun: Maverick''. Teller made his feature film debut in 2010 and gained recognition for his starring role in ...

Ana de Armas Ana Celia de Armas Caso (; born 30 April 1988) is a Cuban and Spanish actress. She began her career in Cuba and had a leading role in the romantic drama '' Una rosa de Francia'' (2006). At age 18, she moved to Madrid, Spain, and starred in t ...

, and

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards, in addition to nominations for nine Academy Awards, si ...

, who also co-produced. Filming began on March 2, 2015 in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The film premiered in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

on August 3, 2016 and was theatrically released by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film production and distribution company of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment (both ultimately owned by Warner Bros. Discovery). The studio is the flagship producer of ...

on August 19, 2016. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $86 million. Hill received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.

Plot

In 2005,

is a massage therapist living in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

with his girlfriend Iz. David spends his life savings on high-quality bedsheets to resell to retirement homes, but the venture fails. David runs into his old friend

, who has formed his own company, AEY Inc., selling arms to the US government for the ongoing

war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...

. Iz informs David she is pregnant, and Efraim offers him a job at AEY; although David and Iz vehemently oppose the war, David joins AEY and lies to Iz. Efraim explains that military equipment orders are posted on a public website, and their job is to bid for small orders ignored by larger contractors but still worth millions. Local businessman Ralph Slutzky provides them funding, under the false belief that AEY only sells arms to protect

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. David and Efraim land a contract to provide several thousand

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and milita ...

pistols to the Iraqi Police in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

, but an Italian embargo blocks the shipment, which is waylaid in

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Failing to deliver the cargo as promised would mean that AEY would be blacklisted from any future contracts. Meanwhile, Iz overhears the true nature of David's business. David and Efraim fly to Jordan, bribing locals to release the shipment, and are provided with a driver to transport them and the shipment into Iraq. The trio drives through the night, bribing a border patrol and evading armed insurgents, and arrive at the military base, where Captain Santos is impressed that they survived the Triangle of Death; the two are paid handsomely. AEY secures larger and more lucrative deals, expanding their operation, and David's daughter Ella is born, while Efraim grows more unstable and untrustworthy. The company has a chance at "The Afghan deal", their biggest yet: the US government posts a massive order worth $300 million, which requires 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition and would net a $100 million profit. Facing a global shortage of

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms d ...

ammunition, the duo encounters legendary arms dealer Henry Girard, who has access to massive unused weapon depots in

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. Needing to dispose of these arsenals—including over 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition—in accordance with

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

treaties, and unable to deal directly with the US, Girard offers to make the deal through AEY. Efraim agrees, despite David's discomfort at working with a man on a terrorist watchlist. The two go to

to test the ammunition and win the contract, though Efraim learns they severely underbid their competitors. Iz, frustrated with David's lies, leaves to live with her mother. Preparing the shipment in Albania, David discovers virtually all the rounds are Chinese-made and illegal due to a US

embargo Economic sanctions are commercial and financial penalties applied by one or more countries against a targeted self-governing state, group, or individual. Economic sanctions are not necessarily imposed because of economic circumstances—they m ...

; to conceal this, Efraim has the ammunition repackaged. Learning Henry has charged them a 400% markup, Efraim plans to cut him out of the deal, ignoring David's protests and destroying the only copy of his partnership contract with David. Henry retaliates by having David kidnapped, beaten, and threatened at gunpoint; David learns Efraim did not pay Enver, the Albanian handling the repackaging, the 100,000 USD repackaging fee. Enver reveals that he knows about the true reason of the repackaging and indirectly threatening to rat them out to the US authority, causing David to promise to get Efraim to pay him. He even learns that his Albanian driver, Bashkim, went missing and starts to wonder if he has been killed. Returning to Miami, David quits AEY and demands the money he is owed, but Efraim refuses. David returns to working as a massage therapist and convinces Iz to move back in with him, telling her the truth about AEY. Weeks later, Efraim and Ralph offer David a paltry severance package, and David threatens Efraim with evidence of his falsified company documents. Shortly after, David and Efraim are arrested by the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

, who had been contacted by the disgruntled Enver. The FBI had previously arrested Ralph, who wore a wire in an incriminating meeting with David and Efraim. Efraim is sentenced to four years in prison for numerous crimes related to conspiracy and fraud on the Afghan deal, while David pleads guilty and gets seven months' house arrest for his cooperation. Months later, Henry apologizes to David for abducting him in Albania and shares his appreciation for not being turned in to the FBI. David asks what has happened to Bashkim, the Albanian driver, but Henry does not answer, instead offering David a briefcase of money in exchange for "no more questions." The movie ends, leaving David's decision unclear.

Cast

Production

Initially,

Jesse Eisenberg Jesse Adam Eisenberg (; born October 5, 1983) is an American actor, writer, and director. He has received various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. ...

and

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...

were set to star in the film; however, Jonah Hill and Miles Teller were eventually cast. Further casting was announced in early 2015, with

joining in February, and JB Blanc joining in March. Screenwriter Stephen Chin based many of the incidents on his own experiences in Iraq. Shooting was initially set to begin late April 2015, in

, for several weeks. According to ''SSN Insider'', filming began on March 2, 2015. Later confirmed by the ''

Business Wire Business Wire is an American company that disseminates full-text press releases from thousands of companies and organizations worldwide to news media, financial markets, disclosure systems, investors, information web sites, databases, bloggers, ...

'' on March 17, 2015, filming was underway in

. On April 29, 2015, Hill and Teller were spotted filming on the set in Burbank,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Music

* "

Waters of Nazareth "Waters of Nazareth" is a song by French electronic music duo Justice. It was released as their debut single on 14 September 2005. It was released as a 12" and CD single with the original three songs. A 12" with remixes by DJ Funk, Erol Alkan, an ...

" by

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

* "Funk #49" by the

James Gang James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), a ...

* "They Broke His Pelvis" by

Cliff Martinez Cliff Martinez (born February 5, 1954) is an American musician and composer. Early in his career, Martinez was known as a drummer notably with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Captain Beefheart. Since the 1990s, he has worked primarily as a film sc ...

* "Don't Fear The Reaper" by

Donald Roeser Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...

* "So What'Cha Want" by The Beastie Boys * "What Up Gangsta" by 50 Cent * "Fireworks Went Off" by Cliff Martinez,

Mac Quayle Mac Quayle is an American composer for film, television and video games, best known for his work on the USA Network's ''Mr. Robot'' and for FX's ''American Horror Story''. Quayle was born in Suffolk, Virginia, but moved around the state, living ...

& Peter Adams * "Jump Around" by

House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip-hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. The group's name is a reference to the H. G. Wells novel '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'', a refer ...

* "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith * "Can Your Monkey Do The Dog" by Rufus Thomas * "Bojangles" by

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

* "

Red Red Wine "Red Red Wine" is a song originally written, performed and recorded by American singer Neil Diamond in 1967 that appears on his second studio album, '' Just for You''. The lyrics are written from the perspective of a person who finds that drink ...

" by

UB40 UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham, England. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. They have been nominated for the ...

(originally by Neil Diamond) * "The Passenger" by Iggy Pop * "Ashgar Be Shama (Izash Remix) by

Ilham al-Madfai Ilham al-Madfai ( ar, إلهام المدفعي) (born 1942) is an Iraqi guitarist, singer and composer. al-Madfai's synthesis of Western guitar stylings with traditional Iraqi music has made him a popular performer in his native country and th ...

* "Chathab" by Ilham al-Madfai * "

Fortunate Son "Fortunate Son" is a song by the American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival released on their fourth studio album, ''Willy and the Poor Boys'' in November 1969. It was previously released as a single, together with "Down on the Corner", in ...

" by Creedence Clearwater Revival * "Dimension" by

Wolfmother Wolfmother is an Australian hard rock band from Sydney. Formed in 2004, the group is centred around vocalist and guitarist Andrew Stockdale, who is the only constant member of the line-up. The band has been through many personnel changes since ...

* "Ooh Las Vegas" by

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

* "Ain't That A Kick In The Head" by Dean Martin * "

Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" is a song written by American musician Neil Diamond, whose recording of it on Bang Records reached number 10 on the US pop singles chart in 1967. The song enjoyed a second life when it appeared on the 1994 ''Pul ...

" by Neil Diamond * "The Last Drive Home" by Cliff Martinez & Randy Alan Miller * "Pushka Kërkon Trima (Rritu Biri i Nënës)" played by Albanian Popular Music Ensemble of Tirana * "

Wish You Were Here Wish You Were Here may refer to: Film, television, and theater Film * ''Wish You Were Here'' (1987 film), a British comedy-drama film by David Leland * ''Wish You Were Here'' (2012 film), an Australian drama/mystery film by Kieran Darcy-Smith ...

" by Pink Floyd * "

What Is Love "What Is Love (Baby Don't Hurt Me)" is a song recorded by Trinidadian-German Eurodance artist Haddaway for his debut album, '' The Album'' (1993). The song was released in 1993 as the album's lead single. It was a hit in Europe, becoming a numbe ...

" by

Haddaway Nestor Alexander Haddaway (born 9 January 1965) is a Trinidadian-born German singer best known for his 1993 hit single " What Is Love", which reached number 1 in 13 countries. Early life Nestor Alexander Haddaway was born in Trinidad and Tobago ...

* "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown girl group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. American rock band Vanilla Fudge ...

" by

Vanilla Fudge Vanilla Fudge is an American rock band known predominantly for their slow extended heavy rock arrangements of contemporary hit songs, such as their hit cover of The Supremes' " You Keep Me Hangin' On". The band's original line–up—vocalist ...

* "

L'amour est un oiseau rebelle Habanera (" usic or danceof Havana") is the popular name for "" (; "Love is a rebellious bird"), an aria from Georges Bizet's 1875 opéra comique '' Carmen''. It is the entrance aria of the title character, a mezzo-soprano role, in scene 5 o ...

" (by Georges Bizet) sung by Maria Callas and the

Orchestre national de France The Orchestre national de France (ONF; literal translation, ''National Orchestra of France'') is a French symphony orchestra based in Paris, founded in 1934. Placed under the administration of the French national radio (named Radio France sinc ...

* "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by

Darlene Love Darlene Wright (born July 26, 1941), known professionally as Darlene Love, is an American singer and actress. She was the lead singer of the girl group the Blossoms and she also recorded as a solo artist. She began singing as a child with her ...

* "Forsythia" by Cliff Martinez * "

Time in a Bottle "Time in a Bottle" is a song by singer-songwriter Jim Croce. He wrote the lyrics after his wife Ingrid told him she was pregnant in December 1970. It appeared on Croce's 1972 ABC debut album '' You Don't Mess Around with Jim'' and was featured ...

" by David Young * "

Behind Blue Eyes "Behind Blue Eyes" is a song by English rock band the Who. It is the second single from the band's fifth album, ''Who's Next'' (1971), and was originally written by Pete Townshend for his '' Lifehouse'' project. The song is one of the Who's best ...

" by

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

* " Everybody Knows" by

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

Release

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

originally set the film for a release on March 11, 2016. In November 2015, the release date was moved to August 19, 2016.

Box office

''War Dogs'' grossed $43 million in North America and $43.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $86.2 million, against a budget of $40 million. In the United States and Canada, ''War Dogs'' was released on August 19, 2016, alongside '' Ben-Hur'' and ''

Kubo and the Two Strings ''Kubo and the Two Strings'' is a 2016 American stop-motion animated action fantasy film produced by Laika. It is directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler from a story by Sh ...

'', and was projected to gross $12–15 million from 3,100 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $1.3 million from its Thursday night previews and $5.5 million on its first day (including previews). It went on to gross $14.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office and first among new releases.

Critical response

''War Dogs'' received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 61%, based on 235 reviews with an average rating of 6.00/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''War Dogs'' rises on the strength of Jonah Hill's compelling performance to take a lightly entertaining look at troubling real-world events." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. ''ScreenCrush's'' Matt Singer said, "Superficially, the movie looks a lot like past Phillips comedies about men behaving badly, with dirty jokes and wacky hijinks galore. But ''War Dogs'' is more critical of its protagonists' behavior, and there's plenty of sad commentary about the state of modern America."

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky Ignatiy Igorevich Vishnevetsky (; russian: Игнатий Игоревич Вишневецкий; born September 5, 1986)Vishnevetsky, Ignati''Time Indefinite'': "A Talk with Sergei Loznitsa" '' Mubi'' is a Russian-American film critic, essayi ...

of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' had misgivings about the film's slant and biographical omissions, writing: "One might quibble with the way Phillips limits responsibility on the Pentagon deal by painting AEY as better businessmen than they actually were .. while avoiding the darker sides of the story..."

Matt Zoller Seitz Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...

of '' RogerEbert.com'' gave the film two out of four stars, stating: "''War Dogs'' is a film about horrible people that refuses to own the horribleness."

References

External links

* * * * {{Bradley Cooper 2016 films 2010s biographical films 2010s crime comedy-drama films 2010s war comedy-drama films American biographical films American buddy films American business films American crime comedy-drama films American war comedy-drama films 2010s war adventure films Comedy films based on actual events Crime films based on actual events Drama films based on actual events Dune Entertainment films Films based on newspaper and magazine articles Films about arms trafficking Films about businesspeople Films produced by Bradley Cooper Films produced by Todd Phillips Films set in 2005 Films set in 2006 Films set in 2007 Films set in 2008 Films set in Afghanistan Films set in Iraq Iraq War films War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) films Films set in Albania Films set in Miami Films shot in California Films shot in Florida Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Miami Films shot in Romania War films based on actual events Films directed by Todd Phillips Films scored by Cliff Martinez Films with screenplays by Todd Phillips Warner Bros. films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films

Plot

Cast

Production

Music

Release

Box office

Critical response

See also

References

External links