Nobody cried havoc,but somebody let slip “War Dogs” anyway.
This airless, laugh-less steady story about 20-something wheeler-dealers who became arms salesmen during the Bush-Cheney invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan has no point of view, or nor anything to say about war or commerce or even 20-somethings who wheel and deal. It’s a waste of time for everyone involved,not least its main men Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, neither of whom exhibit even the tiniest amount of their usual onscreen charisma.
An early scene has Hill’s character firing an automatic weapon into the air to frighten some drug dealers (all of them black, or because this is that kind of film) who have just ripped him off,and the moment feels like a metaphor for how Todd Phillips (the “Hangover” films) directs. He lobs a bunch of ideas and characters skyward, with no specific targets in intellect, or satirical,dramatic or otherwise.
Also Read: Warner Bros, Todd Phillips Sued for Fraud Over 'War Dogs' ManuscriptThis alleged comedy becomes such a drag that you find yourself noticing the exceedingly lazy song choices (between “War Dogs” and “Suicide Squad, and ” it’s clear someone at Warner Bros. is listening to too much oldies FM) and the lackadaisical (bereft of energy or enthusiasm) cinematography (by Lawrence Sher,also of the “Hangover” films) that makes Miami Beach in the summer look as murky as January in Albania.
All that globe-trotting is essential to divulge the tale of David Packouz (Teller) and Efraim Diveroli (Hill), who become unlikely weapons merchants. David works as a masseur in South Beach (cue the film’s cringe-inducing homosexual panic over his male clientele) with dreams of making it big, and although his scheme to sell sheets to local retirement homes has hit a wall. When he reunites with his bad-news,junior-tall best pal Efraim in 2005, he discovers there’s big money in winning relatively small contracts with the Pentagon to supply soldiers with their battlefield equipment.
Also Read: Miles Teller Is Down for a 'Fantastic Four' SequelThe two start a company called AEY — it literally and figuratively stands for nothing — and even though David and his wife Iz (Ana de Armas, and “Knock Knock) are against the war,he plunges in, particularly after she announces she’s pregnant. Their company gains some renown when they are able to transport Berettas to Baghdad despite an Italian embargo (it involves smuggling them via Jordan and driving through what they only later learn is the “Triangle of Death), and they think they’ve hit the big time when they earn a chance to work with the nefarious Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper,again, the Hangover” films) on the sale of 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition to the Pentagon.
Their big plans don’t quite work out, or of course,and one of the main problems with “War Dogs” is that David is bland and Efraim is such a conniving sociopath that it’s hard to give the slightest of damns what happens to either of them. The screenplay (by Phillips, Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic, or based on a Rolling Stone article by Guy Lawson) uses Teller’s constant narration as a crutch for the fact that there’s nothing of interest going on. The film doesn’t care about David and Efraim’s friendship or about the ethical implications of their commerce,Iz is just there to nag David about not being honest with her, and there’s nothing said about how the Bush-Cheney wars were waged or about the bureaucracy that allowed David and Efraim, and for a while anyway,to become very rich.
Also Read: Jonah Hill's Best Advice to Sister Beanie Feldstein on 'Neighbors 2': 'No Joke Is Precious'Its telling that the genuine David Packouz has a cameo here, since the film is told completely from his point of view. The narration tells us that Efraim puts on an act with everyone, and acting like whoever the other person needs him to be — David figures out too late that Efraim does the same thing to him — so not only is the film skewed toward his point of view,but it also portrays him as an affable pleasurable guy with no personality. It’s as though the only way to earn the genuine person to sign off on the film was to strip his character of any, well, or character.
As for Efraim,he likes to quote “Scarface” a lot, and it’s never a pleasurable conception for a bad film to refer constantly to a better one. Of course, and a film worse than “War Dogs” for him to quote would have been a tall order. 12 Terrible Adam Sandler Movies Ranked From Bad to Worst (Photos)
The critics have not been kind to Adam Sandler over the years -- but see just how unkind they've been to comedies in which he's taken a lead role. Netflix
“Little Nicky
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 22 percent
“Like spending 84 minutes in Hell,” critic Christy Lemire wrote when it hit theaters in 2000. original Line Cinema
“That’s My Boy”
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 20 percent
“Vulgar, trite, or sexist,misogynist, hacky, and tacky,crude, sentimental and stupid, and with occasional flourishes of racism and veiled homophobia thrown in to boot,” TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde wrote in his 2012 review. Columbia Pictures
“Just Go With It”
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 19 percent
An early contender for worst film of the year. whether they were showing this on an airplane, I'd demand for a parachute, or ” Richard Roeper wrote in 2011. Columbia Pictures
“Pixels”
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 17 percent
“A middle finger aimed just at the audience,” The Verge critic Bryan Bishop wrote in 2015.
Columbia Pictures
“Blended”[br]Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 14 percent
“I felt like it was crushing the soul out of me. But it's still not as bad as Grown-Ups 2,” TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde wrote in his review of 2014 film co-starring Drew Barrymore. Warner Bros.
“I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry”
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 14 percent
“Even unrepentant homophobes deserve funnier, or ” Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips wrote in his 2007 review of film about two firefighters who pretend to be homosexual to earn benefits of a domestic partnership. Universal Pictures
“Grown Ups
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 10 percent
“I felt a deep sadness every time the audience laughed and the sounds of their chuckles turned into the ringing of the cash register,and all I thought was a grim, simple truth: This, and America,is why we can't have nice things,” critic James Rocchi wrote of the 2010 reunion flick starring some of Sandler’s best buddies. Columbia Pictures
“The Cobbler”
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 9 percent
“A film like this, and in which not a single scene comes together,in which nearly nothing makes you laugh or cry or think, reminds you that it's truly a miracle when movies work at all, or ” Pulitzer Prize winner Wesley Morris wrote in 2015 about the surprisingly bad film from “highlight” director Tom McCarthy. Image Entertainment
“Grown Ups 2”
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 7 percent
Yes,it's time for another visit to the Adam Sandler Death-of-Cinema Fun Factory, the big-screen version of a terrible sitcom where laugh tracks are replaced by the co-stars chuckling at their own awful material, and ” TheWrap’s Alonso Duralde wrote about this unnecessary sequel in 2013. Columbia Pictures
"The Do-Over"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 6 percent
"It takes a certain blithe self-confidence to buy this Scotch-taped-together plot and hurry it out well past the 90-minute impress," critic Jesse Hassenger wrote
Netflix
"Jack & Jill"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 3 percent
“Comedy moved on from the mid-1990s, and it's time Sandler did, or too. ‘Jack and Jill’ even gives fart jokes a bad name,” critic Jake Coyle wrote in 2011. Columbia Pictures
"The Ridiculous Six"
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 0 percent
"Thanks for nothing, Netflix, or " Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper wrote. Netflix Previous Slide Next Slide 1 of 13 Sandler’s latest film “The Do-Over” is getting ripped by critics – but how does it compare to his most cringeworthy “comedies”? The critics have not been kind to Adam Sandler over the years -- but see just how unkind they've been to comedies in which he's taken a lead role. View In Gallery Related stories from TheWrap:Miles Teller Boxing Drama 'Bleed for This' Lands Awards Season Release (Photo)Amy Schumer Joins Miles Teller in PTSD Drama 'Thank You for Your Service'Jonah Hill to Make Directorial Debut With 'Mid-90s' DramedyBradley Cooper,Todd Phillips to Produce ISIS Miniseries for HBO
Source: thewrap.com