War, Inc. (2008)

Directed by: Joshua Seftel | 107 minutes | action, comedy, thriller | Actors: John Cusack, Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd, Sergej Trifunovic, Ned Bellamy, John McLaughlin, Montel Williams, Ben Kingsley, Lyubomir Neikov, Nikolay Stanoev, George Zlatarev, Bashar Rahal, Velislav Pavlov, Zahary Baharov, Doug Dearth, Ben Cross, Mark Roper, Andrey Slabakov, Joost Scholte, Velizar Binev, Davorka Tovilo, James Graves, Troy Rowland, Rachel O’Meara, Nick Harvey, Itai Diakov, Stanimir Stamatov, Georgi Gatzov, Mark Johnson, Krassimir Simeonov, Velizar Peev, Shirly Brener, Katerina Grableva, Sergio Buenrostro, Alex Brown, Attia Hosni Attia, Ivo Kehayov, Teodor Tsolov, Bill Cusack

A satirical film about a hit man with a conscience starring John Cusack and supporting Dan Aykroyd and Joan Cusack? That immediately brings to mind the bizarre and enjoyable ‘Grosse Point Blank’. Unfortunately, ‘War, Inc.’ not the level of the earlier film, but it has become a somewhat chaotic mess, part anti-war film, part political satire, but not convincing enough on both fronts to really appeal. John Cusack does his best as the cynical CIA agent Brand Hauser, co-wrote the screenplay and also acted as producer, but despite his obvious talents, he can’t make chocolate from all the loose elements.

A satirical view and critique of business as a driver of the war industry, the situation in Iraq, the dubious role of a former Vice President (Aykroyd) – obviously based on Dick Cheney – and the impact of it all on people are all piece of interesting building blocks for a film, but the sum of said parts unfortunately does not lead to a good film. The supporting roles are not all equally well performed. Cusack’s sister Joan, who has previously played his assistant, can let off steam, but Dan Aykroyd has a minor supporting role as vice president, who doesn’t do justice to his comedic skills. Ben Kingsley can do little in a role as Hauser’s boss and the question arises why an actor of his caliber is even interested in such an insignificant role. Most of the gnashing of teeth, however, will be generated by Hilary Duff, who plays pop star Yonica Babyyeah in two modes: furious or outraged. She uses a kind of Russian accent (misunderstood attempt at a joke?) and annoying mannerisms, so she barely manages to arouse sympathy. The names of the characters, such as Hegalhuzen, Babyyeah, Ooq-Mi-Fay Taqnufmini and Omar Sharif – yes, really – may be meant to be funny, but at least they don’t come across that way. Perhaps the comparison with the fresh and absurdist ‘Grosse Point Blank’ is an unfair one, but as a sort of unofficial sequel, you should expect more from ‘War, Inc’.

It’s not about Cusack, nor about the always endearing Marisa Tomei and journalist Nathalie Hegalhuzen, they clearly have chemistry together. It’s the jokes that usually don’t work and the absurdist content that’s just too unrealistic to be believable. A requirement of satire in films is not only that it is recognizable in itself, but also that it is recognizable within the context in which it is placed. If it’s too out of sync with reality, it misses the mark. That said, it doesn’t mean everything has failed: quite the contrary, there are some sharp observations and some strong (visual) jokes, which are sure to make for an appreciative grin. And so ‘War, Inc’ contains a handful of good scenes in a sea of ​​missed opportunities. Too bad, because it could have been so much more.