Wikipedia

War Dogs (2016 film)

War Dogs is a 2016 American black comedy crime film directed by Todd Phillips, and written by Phillips, Jason Smilovic and Stephen Chin, based on the 2011 Rolling Stone article "Arms and the Dudes" by Guy Lawson (which was later expanded into a novel, also titled Arms and the Dudes).[6][7] It stars Jonah Hill, Miles Teller, Ana de Armas, and Bradley Cooper, who also produced. The film follows two arms dealers, Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz, who receive a U.S. Army contract to supply ammunitions for the Afghan National Army worth approximately $300 million.[8]

War Dogs
An artwork poster of the film which parodies "Scarface" and shows the two main actors with the title slogan and the credits.
Theatrical release poster, parodying the Scarface poster
Directed byTodd Phillips
Screenplay by
Based on
"Arms and the Dudes"
by Guy Lawson
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyLawrence Sher
Edited byJeff Groth
Music byCliff Martinez
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
Release dates
  • August 3, 2016 (2016-08-03) (New York City)
  • August 19, 2016 (2016-08-19) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$40 million[4]
Box office$86.4 million[5]

The film, which features an unreliable narrator and is labeled as being "based on a true story", is heavily fictionalized and dramatized,[9][10] with some of its events, such as the duo driving through Iraq, either invented or based on other events, such as Chin's own experiences.[11][12] Additionally, Diveroli claimed, but later dismissed, the film was falsely marketed as a true story, and stole material from his 2016 memoir Once a Gun Runner.[13][14]

Filming began on March 2, 2015, in Romania. The film premiered in New York City on August 3, 2016, and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures on August 19, 2016. It received mixed reviews from critics and grossed over $86 million worldwide.[15] Hill received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance.[16]

Plot

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In 2005, David Packouz, a massage therapist living in Miami, Florida with his girlfriend Iz, spends his life savings on an unsuccessful venture to sell bedsheets to retirement homes. David runs into his old friend Efraim Diveroli, whose company, AEY Inc., sells arms to the US government for the war in Iraq. Efraim explains that all military equipment contracts up for bidding are posted on a public website, and he bids on small orders that, although ignored by larger contractors, are still worth millions of dollars.

After Iz informs David she is pregnant, Efraim offers him a job at AEY. David accepts, but he lies to Iz, telling her they will be selling sheets to the military; when she later learns the truth, she tells him she understands what he is doing, but insists that he stop lying to her. Efraim gives David a crash course on arms dealing and introduces him to his silent partner, businessman Ralph Slutsky, who funds AEY’s deals under the false belief that the company only sells arms to protect Israel.

David and Efraim land a contract to provide 5,000 Beretta pistols to the Iraqi police, but they have to circumvent an Italian embargo by sending the shipment to Baghdad through Jordan, where it is seized by customs. If they fail to deliver the pistols, AEY will be blacklisted from future contracts. They fly to Jordan, bribe local officials to release the shipment, and, with a smuggler, take it into Iraq themselves by truck. They are paid handsomely for driving it through the “Triangle of Death”. David again lies to Iz, telling her he was in Jordan the whole time.

AEY expands its operations and David's daughter Ella is born, while Efraim grows more unstable and untrustworthy.

The company has a chance at a contract to supply 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition to the Afghan military at a time when this ammunition is in short supply. At a convention, David and Efraim encounter arms dealer Henry Girard, who has sole access to massive stocks of unused Soviet-era weapons in Albania that the Albanians are required by NATO to liquidate. Barred from dealing directly with the US, Girard proposes to sell AEY the ammunition it needs. AEY wins the contract.

Before David leaves for eight weeks in Albania to supervise the loading of the ammunition, Iz, who is fed up with David lying to her, leaves him to stay at her mother's with Ella.

In Albania, David discovers the ammunition is Chinese-made and thus illegal under a US embargo, so Efraim has it repackaged to mask its origin. On learning Henry has charged them a 400% markup, Efraim decides, despite David’s protests, to cut Henry out of the deal. Henry retaliates by having David kidnapped, beaten, and threatened at gunpoint, leading David to return to Miami to confront Efraim. As David is about to leave, Enver, the Albanian handling the repackaging, tells him he has been paid nothing; David promises Enver to get his money wired to him from Miami.

On returning to Miami, David quits AEY and demands compensation for his work on the Afghan deal, but Efraim refuses to pay him anything. David returns to working as a massage therapist and convinces Iz to move back in with him after telling her the truth about AEY. Three months later, Efraim, with Ralph serving as a mediator, offers David a paltry severance package; David tells Ralph what they have been doing, unaware that Ralph is wearing a listening device for the FBI. They have been denounced by Enver, who was never paid.

David and Efraim are arrested. Efraim is sentenced to four years in prison, while David pleads guilty and is sentenced to seven months of house arrest.

Some time later, Henry contacts David and apologizes for abducting him in Albania; he also thanks David for not mentioning him in his testimony and offers him a briefcase full of money he made from the Afghan deal.

Cast

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Production

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Initially, Jesse Eisenberg and Shia LaBeouf were set to star in the film;[17] however, Jonah Hill and Miles Teller were eventually cast.[18][19] Further casting was announced in early 2015, with Ana de Armas joining in February,[20] and JB Blanc joining in March.[21] Screenwriter Stephen Chin based many of the incidents on his own experiences in Iraq.[22]

Shooting was initially set to begin late April 2015, in Miami, for several weeks.[23] According to SSN Insider, filming began on March 2, 2015.[24] Later confirmed by the Business Wire on March 17, 2015, filming was underway in Romania.[25] On April 29, 2015, Hill and Teller were spotted filming on the set in Burbank, California.[8][26]

Release

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Warner Bros. Pictures originally set the film for a release on March 11, 2016.[27] In November 2015, the release date was moved to August 19, 2016.[28]

Box office

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War Dogs grossed $43 million in North America and $43.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $86.4 million, against a budget of $40 million.[5]

In the United States and Canada, War Dogs was released on August 19, 2016, alongside Ben-Hur and Kubo and the Two Strings, and was projected to gross $12–15 million from 3,100 theaters in its opening weekend.[29] 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.[30]

Critical response

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War Dogs received mixed reviews from critics.[31] On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 62%, 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."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 57 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[32] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[33]

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."[34]

Ignatiy Vishnevetsky of The A.V. Club 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..."[35] Matt Zoller Seitz 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."[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "War Dogs". RatPac Entertainment. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  2. 1 2 Gleiberman, Owen (August 16, 2016). "Film Review: 'War Dogs'". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2016. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  3. ↑ "War Dogs (15)". British Board of Film Classification. July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016.[dead link]
  4. ↑ "2016 Feature Film Study" (PDF). FilmLA. May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 4, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "War Dogs (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Stoner Arms Dealers: How Two American Kids Became Big-Time Weapons Traders". Rolling Stone. March 16, 2011. Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ↑ Lawson, Guy (June 9, 2015). Arms and the Dudes. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1451667592.
  8. 1 2 Evry, Max (April 30, 2015). "Arms & the Dudes: First Photos of Jonah Hill and Miles Teller on the Set". comingsoon.net. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  9. ↑ Zwecker, Bill (August 14, 2016). "Miles Teller, Jonah Hill learned how to become 'War Dogs'". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  10. ↑ Roeper, Richard (August 16, 2016). "Jonah Hill, Miles Teller armed and hilarious in slick 'War Dogs'". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  11. ↑ O'Hehir, Andrew (August 16, 2016). "Bros in the heart of darkness: Jonah Hill and Miles Teller's 'War Dogs' is a scathing indictment of Dick Cheney's America". Salon. Archived from the original on May 17, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  12. ↑ Ito, Robert (August 12, 2016). "Guns. Money. Iraq. And Then a Screenplay for 'War Dogs.'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 11, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
  13. ↑ "The Truth Behind the Movie 'War Dogs'". November 19, 2019. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved December 9, 2019 – via YouTube.
  14. ↑ Shammas, Brittany (January 5, 2018). "War Dogs Smuggler Efraim Diveroli Sues Memoir Co-Author". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "War Dogs (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 10, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  16. ↑ "2017 Golden Globes: full list of nominations". The Guardian. December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  17. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (December 3, 2014). "Miles Teller Eyed to Join Jonah Hill in Todd Phillips' 'Arms and the Dudes'". TheWrap. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  18. ↑ Kit, Borys (December 3, 2014). "Jonah Hill to Star in Crime Comedy 'Arms and the Dudes'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
  19. ↑ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 12, 2015). "'Whiplash' Star Miles Teller Joins Jonah Hill In 'Arms And The Dudes'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 9, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  20. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (February 13, 2015). "Ana De Armas Joins Dudes In 'Arms And The Dudes'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  21. ↑ Pedersen, Erik (March 5, 2015). "IFC Films Locks Up 'Stanford Prison Experiment'; JB Blanc Joins 'Arms And The Dudes' — Film Briefs". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  22. ↑ "The Frame | 'War Dogs' screenwriter: Driving through Iraq's 'triangle of death' was easier than dealing with studio heads | 89.3 KPCC". Scpr.org. August 22, 2016. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  23. ↑ "Jonah Hill's New Dark Comedy "Arms and the Dudes" to Film in Miami". onlocationvacations.com. February 24, 2015. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
  24. ↑ "On the Set for 3/2/15: Matthew McConaughey & Gugu Mbatha-Raw Start 'Free State of Jones', 'Kickboxer' Wraps & More". ssninsider.com. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Shooting Begins on "Arms & the Dudes"". businesswire.com. March 17, 2015. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  26. ↑ Molinet, Jason (April 30, 2015). "Jonah Hill spotted on set of latest movie looking noticeably heavier". nydailynews.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2015.
  27. ↑ A. Lincoln, Ross (May 19, 2015). "'The Accountant', 'Project XX', And More Get Release Dates". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  28. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (November 12, 2015). "Warner Bros. Moves Todd Phillips' 'Arms & The Dudes' To Summer". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  29. ↑ "'Ben-Hur' remake likely won't be able to topple 'Suicide Squad' at the box office". Los Angeles Times. August 16, 2016. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  30. ↑ "'Suicide Squad' Holding No. 1 Turf; 'War Dogs' & 'Kubo' In Staring Contest; 'Ben-Hur' Crashing". Deadline Hollywood. August 22, 2016. Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  31. ↑ "'War Dogs' Critical Roundup: Reviews Praise Jonah Hill in Uneven Action Comedy". IndieWire. August 18, 2016. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  32. ↑ "War Dogs Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  34. ↑ Singer, Matt (August 16, 2016). "'War Dogs' Review: Todd Phillips' Best Movie Since 'The Hangover'". ScreenCrush. Archived from the original on August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  35. ↑ Vishnevetsky, Ignatiy (August 18, 2016). "The gun-running true story War Dogs is all bark, no bite". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 19, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  36. ↑ Seitz, Matt Zoller (August 17, 2016). "War Dogs". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on April 29, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
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