WAR DOGS (2016)

6/19/2017 - War dogs – 5-/10 – Somewhat silly and haughty, despite its real-life basing, War Dogs does deliver a solidly enjoyable actionish farce. Not deserving of awards nor extreme enthusiastic praise, but it was steadily passable.

Teller never really pops onscreen, easily melting into the steadily moving plot. This is a problem when he is your sole focus of the film. Hill does a better job as his boisterous and bombastic character/performance provides the shotgun blast that paints enjoyment across the wall of this flick. Certainly sizzle over depth, he works for this movie and the larger-than-life/nigh unbelievable but real story being illustrated.

Adamantly shackled to the whipping post of “averageness”, War Dogs doesn’t try for too much and thus doesn’t fall flat on its face. Some of the musical cues, editing, and shot choices were a tad over-embelished. That said, they didn’t derail or suffocate (as opposed to something like Suicide Squad). It adequately treads water and swam in its own section of the pool, avoiding any deep dangerous waters or a push upstream. The momentum comes from the story and it is a fun tale.