Movie · 2016 · Comedy, Crime, Drama · 1h 54m · R · English
Curator score: 4.2/10 (812.8K ratings)
An American dream
Overview
Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.
Ratings
Curator score: 4.2/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.48/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 62%
Metacritic: 57
TMDB: 6.9/10
Director
Todd Phillips
Production
The Mark Gordon Company, Joint Effort, RatPac Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures
Cast
Miles Teller, Jonah Hill, Ana de Armas, Bradley Cooper, Kevin Pollak, Patrick St. Esprit, Shaun Toub, JB Blanc, Gabriel Spahiu, Julian Sergi, Andrei Finti, Jeremy Tardy, Barry Livingston, Jeff Pierre, Said Faraj, Ashley Rae Spillers, Mehdi Merali, Aaron Lustig, Ashli Haynes, Max Daniels
Curator Review
Verdict
A slick, fast-moving crime comedy with a strong central performance and a sharp sense of absurdity, but it never fully digs into the real-world corruption it’s dramatizing. It works best as a cynical hangout movie about greed, hustle, and bad decisions rather than a serious indictment of the arms trade.
Best for
Viewers who like darkly comic true-crime stories
Fans of loud, abrasive antiheroes and buddy-crime dynamics
People who enjoy satirical takes on American greed and war profiteering
Skip if
You want a sober, deeply researched political drama
You dislike broad comedy mixed with crime drama
You prefer films with a more morally grounded point of view
Overview
War Dogs is built on a great premise: two young hustlers stumble into a grotesquely profitable corner of the military-industrial complex and treat it like a startup. That contradiction gives the film its energy, and Todd Phillips keeps it moving with enough swagger, tension, and comic ugliness to make the ride entertaining even when the satire is blunt.
Worth noting
The movie’s biggest asset is Jonah Hill, who turns Efraim into a volatile, hilarious menace. Miles Teller gives the story a more readable entry point as the increasingly uneasy partner, and the film’s best scenes come from watching ambition curdle into panic. It’s less interested in nuance than momentum, but the momentum is strong.
Bottom line
What holds it back is that the film often feels like it’s skimming the surface of a much uglier story. The jokes land, the energy is high, and the corruption is obvious, but the movie rarely lingers long enough to become truly biting. Still, as a glossy, cynical crime comedy about American excess, it’s an easy watch with a nasty aftertaste.
Top Letterboxd reviews
melissa 🪽 (3.5★) · 3351 likes
I relate a lot to this movie. I too am obsessed with Scarface and want to have ana de armas babies
matt lynch (2.5★) · 2082 likes
THE WOOF OF WAR STREET
These are the jokes y'all.
Wood (4★) · 1725 likes
Fat Jonah Hill is good Jonah Hill.
Brooke (3.5★) · 1291 likes
not enough ana de armas
Ceez (3.5★) · 1267 likes
War is an economy. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either in on it or stupid.
Jonah Hills characters laugh is still hysterical
2013 · Comedy, Crime, Action · 2h 10m · R · Curator 1.8/10 (433.7K ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus
Broad, bodybuilder-sized crime comedy about stupidity, greed, and escalation.