War Dogs

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2:32

War Dogs

R

Released Aug 19, 2016

1h 54m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

62%

Tomatometer

235 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

With the war in Iraq raging on, a young man (Jonah Hill) offers his childhood friend a chance to make big bucks by becoming an international arms dealer. Together, they exploit a government initiative that allows businesses to bid on U.S. military contracts. Starting small allows the duo to rake in money and live the high life. They soon find themselves in over their heads after landing a $300 million deal to supply Afghan forces, a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people.

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Critics Consensus

War Dogs rises on the strength of Jonah Hill's compelling performance to take a lightly entertaining look at troubling real-world events.

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Kristen Yoonsoo Kim

Complex

Sure, there's voiceover, freeze frames, and morally reprehensible characters, but it reads more like a parody film than an inspired one.

Feb 23, 2017

Full Review

Nigel Andrews

Financial Times

By the end we have warmed -- almost -- to the innocent villainy of two con folk serving a greater maladroit maleficence.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 27, 2016

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

Utterly specious.

Rated: 2/5

Oct 10, 2016

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Zach Pope

Zach Pope Reviews

Jonah Hill delivers one of his best performances

Aug 7, 2023

Full Review

Don Shanahan

Every Movie Has a Lesson

Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it is also lazily standing on the shoulders of giants. Thats the impact and existence of Todd Phillipss War Dogs in a gun err nutshell.

Rated: 2/5

Mar 8, 2022

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Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

Plain laziness.

Rated: 1.5/5

Jun 30, 2021

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Blu B

A Biopic comedy drama. Excellent editing and it's really well made all around. The structure is pretty much Goodfellas and Wolf of Wall Street mixed together. Todd Phillips is clearly a big fan of Scorese in general in his works. Hill is phenominal in this with great comedy and serving as the "Tommy"/"Micky" character in this Scorese style flick. He's funny, dangerously psychotic, and an idiot. This does a great job making the technical jargon of Arms Dealing and Govt Regs for dealers easy to understand. The plot expose is really sharp and the dialouge in general is really good the whole way. Plenty of dark comedy in this too. It's funny and fasinating. The one issue here is Miles Teller. He's good but his character is kind of on the boring side a bit. He doesn't become hooked on drugs, he isn't a psycho, or a criminal himself like how other Scorese style films main characters usually do. So when we do explore his life in between events it's a bit boring but it is important. His wife and all is the stereotypical wife who is left in the dark and eventually leaves and may or may not come back with the kid. But she is just alright and isn't really given any serious character and kind of an afterthought. But it's important to the plot and Hill does a great job making Teller''s character interesting he's given great dialouge for the narration to boot. Anyone who is a fan of Scorese pics, the director, the real events behind this, comedies, biopics or war dramas should check this out.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

05/02/25

Full Review

Jacob N

Film is great. One of my favorite stories told through a film. Always a go too watch when i cant find anything.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/26/25

Full Review

Audience Member

Great movie , kept me entertained the whole 2 hours.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/28/25

Full Review

Finn C

This film is class, humorous, aggressive and inspiring

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/27/25

Full Review

Nathan F

A comedic touch on the other side of military conflicts.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/25

Full Review

Menew A

Absolutely love these true stories when they’re done with it and you feel for the characters in their downfall

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/25

Full Review

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Todd Phillips

Director

Jonah Hill

Efraim Diveroli

Miles Teller

David Packouz

Ana de Armas

Iz

Bradley Cooper

Henry Girard

Kevin Pollak

Ralph Slutsky

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War Dogs: Trailer 2

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War Dogs: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

With the war in Iraq raging on, a young man (Jonah Hill) offers his childhood friend a chance to make big bucks by becoming an international arms dealer. Together, they exploit a government initiative that allows businesses to bid on U.S. military contracts. Starting small allows the duo to rake in money and live the high life. They soon find themselves in over their heads after landing a $300 million deal to supply Afghan forces, a deal that puts them in business with some very shady people.

Director: Todd Phillips
Producer: Mark Gordon, Todd Phillips, Bradley Cooper
Screenwriter: Stephen Chin, Todd Phillips, Jason Smilovic
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros. Pictures, Joint Effort, The Mark Gordon Company
Rating: R (Language Throughout|Drug Use|Some Sexual References)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 19, 2016, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $43.0M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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