Director Todd Phillips (Old School, The Hangover Trilogy) gives us an interesting and entertaining look at the world of international arms dealing in the modern age with War Dogs, starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller. Check out our thoughts on the film after the jump.

The past few years have seen an interesting shift among comedy directors into directing unconventional dramas. Last year, Adam McKay brought us The Big Short, an Oscar-nominated look at the 2000’s housing crisis that successfully managed to make the complicated issues behind the economic downturn something a layman could grasp and still delivered an entertaining film. With War Dogs, Todd Phillips takes a topic that is usually only explored to some success in drama like 2005’s Lord of War and makes it a captivating look at how interpersonal relationships can be shaped and twisted by greed.

Miles Teller plays David Packouz, a would-be bed sheet wholesaler in South Florida. David has dreams of making it big as an entrepreneur, but his ambition is derailed by the fact that the people he sells to want the cheapest possible product; a theme that repeats later in the film. He has to support himself as a male masseuse and this becomes more complicated when his girlfriend Iz (Ana De Armas) becomes pregnant with his child. At a funeral, he reconnects with a childhood friend Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill), who offers him a position working under him at his new business. Efraim has become very successful by bidding on neglected small potatoes weapons contracts offered by the government as a result of a settlement against Haliburton. Soon the two are making in-roads into bigger contracts as a result of the reputation they built up as “war dogs,” including running Berettas from Jordan to Iraq to resupply the U.S. military police in Baghdad. However, as their success grows, so does Efraim’s greed and David’s need for security. This comes to a head as the two make a bid for a gigantic contract to supply 100 million rounds of AK-47 ammo to the government for use in Afghanistan.

On the surface, the movie seems like one simply outlining the rise and fall of gun dealers. However, Hill and Teller have tremendous chemistry on screen and make the story feel more like one of mom and pop gun shop grown too big and too fast. Teller plays against type and makes a very relatable lead as the man who wants to do right by his family but at the same time is conflicted about the type of business he is involved with and whether or not he can trust his friend. Hill channels the same manic jerk he excels at playing in films like The Wolf of Wall Street. You don’t know when he is lying or telling the truth and he plays Diveroli as a man who longs for friendship and understanding; but not as much as he wants to channel the would-be Tony Montana/Scarface lifestyle he has grown up wanting for himself. The cinematography in the film is really eyecatching and Phillips captures great iconic shots throughout that give the film a wide sense of scope that really depict how far the two travel from their start in dingy Florida neighborhoods to far flung vistas like Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The film also sports a great soundtrack that complements the story well. In many ways, the film compares favorably to The Big Short in keeping a focus on the main storyline while throwing in little nuggets throughout to keep the film engaging while explaining arms dealers conventions in Las Vegas and foreign trade embargoes levied on the sale of specific weapons brands between nations.

War Dogs is an entertaining drama with shades of comedy to finish off the summer season. If you enjoyed Lord of War, Pain and Gain, The Wolf of Wall Street, or The Big Short, this film will definitely be up your alley and Todd Phillips showcases himself as a director to watch beyond franchise comedy fare.