War on Everyone Hit Your Car Again
black comedy that won't please everyone
This is one of those movies that you'll either love or hate.
I loved it.
The opening scene had me thinking that it was too over-the-top, and I wasn't going to like it, but I just kept laughing. Out loud.
Being from New Mexico, some of the jokes at the expense of the ABQ PD had extra spice.
Black comedy isn't for everyone. If you don't like the dark side, you aren't going to enjoy this one. I can understand the reviews from those who like their comedy dark but just didn't connect with this one, too. Different strokes and all. It is wacky, crazy, and out there, not just black.
I found the chemistry between the two buddy cops great, there are some truly wonderful lines amongst their banter.
If you can get over the "silly factor" involved with being so over-the-top, I think you'll enjoy the ride, otherwise you'll be one of those that "HATED IT".
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Nice war on every guys
So we had two movies about an investigating couple in 2016. The other one was Shane Blacks "Nice guys". They weren't cops there, like they are here. But then again, these cops right here, you won't find too many of them around. It's obvious this is anything but politically correct. So if you don't like humor off the rails and off the norm, you probably should not watch this.
If you on the other hand like your comedies to be crazy and all over the place, you should give this a chance. It's actually pretty funny and the two buddies on the front are doing a great job with their characters. Completely crazy and without any morality center they take whatever they like and do not care. You could argue that this makes them despicable persons, but remember this is a movie and a comedy. Don't be offended by it, it takes away all the fun you could have
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Crazy Wonderful!!
Two Wild and Crazy Guys who pull out all the stops is what John Michael McDonagh had in mind when he created this totally outrageous over the top masterpiece.
I loved the chemistry between Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Pena, I think more than any buddy movie I've ever seen, except for maybe "Freebie and the Bean," with Alan Arkin and James Caan. They were just great together, and together they hit this one right over the center field wall.
I'll own this because I definitely plan on watching it again and again. If you like black comedies where they've thrown out the rule book, you're going to love this.
My highest recommendation for pure unadulterated entertainment.
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Will offend some and have others in stitches
Irish-born, London-based writer/director John Michael McDonagh's previous two films, The Guard (2011) and Calvary (2014), were jet- black comedies set in his native country, and both featured knockout performances from their lead, Brendan Gleeson. McDonagh's debut features were warmly received by critics, especially Calvary, which played out a rather twisted revenge tale against a backdrop of religious guilt. Neither managed to generate much commercial success, but nevertheless made McDonagh hot property and offered him the chance to work in the U.S., much like his brother Martin after In Bruges. Has John gone the way of his brother and delivered a misfire in the mould of the messy Seven Psychopaths?
Well in a way, yes. More akin to the broad, bad-taste tale of a corrupt, hateful cop on a journey of redemption in The Guard than the contemplative weight of Calvary, War on Everyone moves the action to Albuquerque, New Mexico and replaces Gleeson with the sharply- dressed, acid-tongued duo of Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Pena as bad cop and badder cop. Skarsgard plays Terry Monroe, an alcoholic, Glen Campbell-loving giant of a man who is prone to violence. Pena is Bob Bolano, an intellectual family man who enjoys philosophical arguments with his wife (Stephanie Sigman) while berating his fat children. They are the worst kind of cops imaginable; both are corrupt beyond belief, taking cuts of every stash or bundle of money they find, and generally f*****g up scumbags left right and centre.
McDonagh has great faith in his actors to make these truly despicable characters seemingly defined by their quirks likable, and it's a testament to the leading men that they actually manage to pull it off. Pena can do this kind of thing in his sleep - he could be playing Hitler and will still charm the pants off anybody watching. The real revelation is Skarsgard, showing a real knack for comic timing after previously being resigned to more stoic roles. Apparently Garret Hedlund pulled out at the last minute, and what a stroke of luck that turned out to be. At almost 6"5 and permanently hunched, Skarsgard often resembles a slow-witted giant come to stomp the place to pieces, instantly banishing all memory of the ripped hunk of The Legend of Tarzan. The duo's chemistry really holds the film together, as the remainder is little more than a mishmash of violence, colourful characters and homages.
Another way to make loathsome characters more sympathetic is by pitting them against someone even more heinous. Here the big villain is English aristocrat James Mangan (Theo James), a narcissistic psychopath whose planned heist with Muslim convert and police informer Reggie X (Malcolm Barrett) ends in a bloodbath. Terry and Bob still want their cut though, but the well-spoken Lord may prove too powerful to intimidate, especially with police chief Gerry Stanton (Paul Reiser) and City Hall breathing down their necks. It's not a particularly interesting story to build a collection of shakedowns, car chases and shoot-outs around, but some relief is offered in the relationship between Terry and former stripper Jackie (Tessa Thompson), who form a sweet romance amidst all the misanthropy. A certain step back after the mastery of Calvary, War on Everyone will offend some but have others in stitches, and I'm somewhere in between.
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Good Ideas, Not Executed Properly
If I had to give this film a pass-or-fail grade I would give it a thumbs up, but not very enthusiastically. A lot of the elements of this movie I really like on their surface, but for some reason they don't all come together as a cohesive and coherent motion picture. On the plus side the acting is good and a lot of the sardonic humour played very well for me.
On the down side this movie just seemed to have a lack of direction and a real "point" it was driving toward. I've read other reviews here about how the lack of point itself may be the point, but I think that is letting the filmmaker off the hook. I don't think that's really what they were going for.
It feels like they wanted at times to make a very black comedy about power, corruption, and the pointlessness of it all (for some), but at other times it's more of a light-hearted and sarcastic "buddy cop" flick, and they two just don't quite gel.
Good acting, it looks great, and a lot of funny moments make this a worthwhile watch though.
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A weird modern tribute/homage/caricature of 70's cop fiction
I really liked War On Everyone, to me it was an alternate reality made through the trope of American cop movies and TV from the 70's. Not the real 70's but the film fiction of the 1970's but with the movie actually set in modern times.
I also noticed the viewer has to pay attention or you will miss the connection of each scene to the next (no checking your cell phone). War On Everyone is a tightly woven film where a homage to 70's film/TV style might be too obscure for anyone under 50 or someone who never watched old 70's cop stuff. The movie probably needed some objective editing from someone besides the writer/director.
I'm 54 and I thought War On Everyone was very funny. :-) I have a tomboy mom who took me to every car chase movie that came out in the 70's - R rated included - and her favorite TV shows (that me and my brother were 'forced' to watch) were Mannix, Dragnet, and Adam 12. I loved Starsky and Hutch 1975 (Huggy Bear reference in WOE). It probably helped me like the movie.
The movie does not pull it's punches in swearing, offensive racial slurs, and bawdy humor but it strangely passes the Bechdel test when the two main female characters have a scene where they talk to each other about their travels.
War On Everyone is movie where everyone has their faults but seems to ask the questions, "Does societies definition of right and wrong mean anything, are there acceptable degrees of wrongness and is there a line that even "bad" people won't cross?"
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Totally amoral fun
Warning: Spoilers
This is the story of two corrupt cops but played from laughs. It is like Lethal Weapon but instead of solving the crime they only care about the loot (money drugs or anything else) but they still have some minimal moral standard that make them do the right thing (well not exactly but still acceptable). the cynical alcoholic partner.
The movie uses some of the typical clichés of police thrillers for fun. Criminals run free because they are British Lords and Police chief is only interested in avoid conflicts and does not like to be bothered
Michael Pena has already shown he can be very funny (check him in Ant Man) but here is outstanding. Alexander Skarsgård is equally good, while the rest of the cast is game too.
This is a comedy but it is not The Naked Gun and not for kids. There are extremely violent scenes and the level of corruption of the two main characters is obscene.
By the end; they do something good (killing everybody) but still are far from redeemed.
In brief; the type of comedy you usually do not see in this politically correct country. It is a pity it never got proper distribution and publicity while other CRAP gets a better push and released in thousands of screens.
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Could have been better but still enjoyable.
This week's Odeon's Screen Unseen was my highly anticipated War On Everyone, highly anticipated for a number of reasons. Firstly, I really enjoyed John Michael McDonagh's Calvary with Brendan Gleeson, both written and directed by McDonagh, just like this film. Secondly, Michael Peña being one of my favourite actors since the film Crash and have liked him in everything since. Thirdly, this year's Tarzan, Alexander Skarsgård, having enjoyed his John Clayton/Tarzan I was eager to see what else he can offer.
Peña and Skargård play Bob and Terry, two corrupt cops who wreck havoc across New Mexico taking and doing whatever they want under the protection of their badge and guns, roughing up criminals in their unorthodox policing methods, who are unfortunately enough to get in their way. Skargård's Terry being the hulking, unhinged, drunkard that swaggers about punching most people in the face; a lot, and Peña's Bob is the intellect of the two, smart-talking and quick-thinking being his forte, throwing out quirky philosophical comments at any given moment. The chemistry between the two is highly entertaining, provoking you to want to know what they're going to do next.
The two of them rampage about town in Terry's indestructible 1970 Chevrolet Monte Carlo and no one is safe, apart from the meek, so justice is on the agenda, just not the kind of justice the precinct would warrant, especially their Lieutenant, played by Paul Reiser. Their shake downs of crims eventually leads them to smug, rich Brit, crime-Lord James Mangan, who is just wrong, very wrong indeed but played well by Divergent's Theo James, donning his home accent and wonderful tweed attire.
The film goes all over the place, (even to Iceland) and although not hard to follow, it feels like a mess, thinking I had missed something along the way. A lot happens in the 98min runtime but I can't say it's fast pace, it felt unbalanced quite a few times during the movie but the events that do unfold are dark and brutal if not amusing.
There's quite an assortment of characters besides the key players, notably the absconding informant, Reggie, the squirmy, feminine Birdwell, Paddy Power, Pádraic and the stunning Jackie Hollis, played by Creed's Tessa Thompson. With all the colourful characters it made the story feel like a disjointed, poor version of a Tarantino movie but and lacked a great soundtrack, apart from the Glen Campbell that seems to be playing most of the time during the film.
It's a rough, tough buddy-cop movie like no other, could well have been written by Elmore Leonard whilst on LSD. It's very much a McDonagh's movie, being quite refreshing in effortless style, only Americanised and yet, there's great potential to improve on this film.
Running Time: 7 The Cast: 8 Performance: 8 Direction: 7 Story: 5 Script: 8 Creativity: 6 Soundtrack: 6 Job Description: 6 The Extra Bonus Points: 5 for being quite outrageous and offensive in parts.
66% 7/10
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If you're a fan of extremely clever and witty dialogue, and buddy action flicks, you definitely can't go wrong with this one!
'WAR ON EVERYONE': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
The new action-comedy buddy cop flick from writer/director John Michael McDonagh (who also helmed the 2011 buddy cop film 'THE GUARD', and the 2014 catholic priest dramatic thriller 'CALVARY'). This one stars Michael Pena and Alexander Skarsgard as two crooked cops that constantly blackmail and frame criminals, in New Mexico, that get in over their heads when they try to mess with the wrong guy. The movie also costars Theo James, Tessa Thompson, Caleb Landry Jones, Malcolm Barrett and Paul Reiser. It got mostly positive reviews from critics (although not as positive as McDonagh's other movies) and it also screened at the Panorama section of the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. I absolutely loved it, and I think it's McDonagh's best movie to date.
Detective Bob Bolano (Pena) and Detective Terry Monroe (Skarsgard) are two crooked cops that work in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bob is a family man, with a wife and two kids, while Terry is an alcoholic bachelor. The two make a comfortable living for themselves by blackmailing known criminals in the area. They put themselves in serious danger though, when they start to harass a corrupt British 'Lord' named James Mangan (James).
The movie is classic buddy action-comedy material, that can easily rival the likes of 'LETHEL WEAPON', 'KISS KISS BANG BANG' or 'THE NICE GUYS'. It's darker than those other films, but somehow you still care about the two lead anti-heroes in it (and Pena and Skarsgard are both fantastic in their roles). It's quite a bit different than McDonagh's other movies; it has a lot more commercial appeal and it's begging for a franchise (I'd love to see sequels with the same lead characters). If you're a fan of extremely clever and witty dialogue, and buddy action flicks, you definitely can't go wrong with this one!
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/rLEEz_CHZwo
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Surreal Black Comedy
Warning: Spoilers
This is a buddy cop thriller with a surreal black comedy edge. Though this is British Film Institute funded, it's probably best that you know beforehand that this is not your typical Guy Richie style gangster movie.
Set in Mexico, the two antihero cops are ultimately good guys at heart, they just prefer not to do anything by the book, they're mostly out for serving themselves than serving the public.
They learn that a million dollar heist is being planned, and they set about letting the crime happen in order to ultimately steal the cash.
The horizontal wipes and the soundtrack (mainly Glen Campbell) gives this film an old-fashioned feel. You can't help comparing some of the scenes with Tarantino's work.
I liked the zany black humour, the chemistry between the two cops, the atmospheric close-ups, and the on-going 'indestructible' car 'joke'.
You'll enjoy this film if not easily offended by racist or sexist jokes, the purpose of which is to create constant ironic humour. Otherwise it's not a bad movie, not a great movie, but definitely different from the norm.
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Don't waste your time.
The trouble with John Michael McDonagh is that he's not half as clever as he thinks he is or that he would like us to think he is. If he was really smart he wouldn't be making pretentious crap like "War on Everyone". This should have been just another buddy cop movie with a lineage that goes all the way back to the seventies but that would have been too common-place for a man like McDonagh, the much less talented brother of playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh.
"War on Everyone" is a semi-serious, name-dropping, (from feminism, the classics, literature, the movies, popular music; the kind of things 'smart' people are supposed to know about), buddy movie, all done in the worst possible taste which isn't a problem in itself; I love bad taste when it's funny but this just isn't funny. On the plus side, the ridiculously handsome Alexander Skarsgard, (son of Stellan), who plays one half of our pair of anti-heroes, shows that given a half decent script he might even be able to deliver the goods. Otherwise, that's about it. Don't waste your time.
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War on Everyone is Close to Being Something Great but it Still Makes for an Entertaining Dark Comedy
Warning: Spoilers
*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) and Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) are the black sheep of their branch of the New Mexico police department. Their obviously dirty and corrupt, they snort coke on the job and say just about every racist phrase that pops into their heads. After an admittedly funny incident where they pushed their official boundaries just a tad, they return off of suspension. Their boss Lt. Gerry Stanton (Paul Reiser) is weirdly tolerant of their behaviour but he warns them that they've run out of chances. According to him, the next complaint they get filed against them, they're gone. Terry and Bob laugh this off (Terry especially seems to be paying as little attention as possible) and they file out of the office. They try to keep a low profile but a mysterious network led by Lord James Mangan (Theo James) and Russell Birdwell (Caleb Landry-Jones) reveals itself. Terry also finds a new girlfriend in Jackie Hollis (Tessa Thompson) and Bob is trying to decide his future with his wife Delores Bolano (Stephanie Sigman).
War on Everyone is the newest project by John Michael McDonagh. His biggest claim to fame is another dark police comedy The Guard (its a solid/underrated movie) so I was excited to see this. The subject matter War on Everyone is pretty dark and suitably so. Terry and Bob are fighting against some pretty evil people. The problem is that the plot is so far in the background, you almost forget that there is a through line to it. I was interested in spending time on Bob and Terry's adventures but the movie meanders so much that you feel it losing focus despite the overall story still being involved somehow. Don't get me wrong, I laughed a good amount and the hijinx these guys get into tends to be the more interesting part of the movie. I still felt myself wanting a more consistent story to go along with these very exaggerated characters.
The plot isn't very strong but the movie compensates by having two larger-than-life characters at the centre. Bob and Terry are you're average dirty cops if you gave them nasty drug addictions and matching god complexes. They really don't give a crap if they're actions offend anyone or if they break the rules. Beating up criminals after they're in custody is part of the job and doing cocaine and drinking on duty is their version of their daily medicine. Their language is really filthy and while I thought some of the comedic dialogue was really good, it is straight up offensive. If you're easily put off by strong language, don't watch this movie. The movie admittedly gives them a couple of decent subplots to expand their characters a bit too. I liked Terry and Bob but their personalities highlight one of the big problems with the movie. They're so obviously corrupt and they're so offensive that no one would ever let them get away with what they do. Their actions turn them into cartoons at different points in the movie and it pushed it a little past plausible deniability. This is done for the sake of comedy but I could have used a wink at the camera or something meta dialogue to compensate for the unrealistic actions of Terry and Bob.
Buddy cop movies (even if they're parodies) need strong chemistry between the partners (e.g. Michael Pena's other cop movie End of Watch). The chemistry between Skarsgard and Pena is strong even if we don't get a ton of insight into how their partnership became so strong. Pena is solid but I was pretty impressed by Skarsgard. He isn't playing a pretty boy type and Terry was a big departure from what I saw him do in the past. I also thought he had strong chemistry with Tessa Thompson. I thought she was also really good and her subplot was handled well. Theo James did about as much as he could with his character, which borders on a typical cliché British villain. Caleb Landry-Jones wasn't bad but his character was pretty weird. They made some odd choices with his character that left me almost scratching my head wondering why.
This movie was pretty close to becoming something special. You have 2 funny and interesting characters sharing the screen and someone who specializes in this type of movie directing the camera. But they needed to tighten things up a little more, give us a more interactive story and maybe tone down a little of the non-PC dialogue. But this is still funny and it works so I'll give it a 7/10.
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Quite random...and hilarious
Bob Bolano and Terry Monroe are two crooked Albuquerque PD detectives. They tend to hustle criminals but their methods have landed them in hot water with their boss, and they are on their last warning. They get wind of a heist and decide to muscle in on the action, robbing the perpetrators. Unfortunately for them, the mastermind of the heist is someone out of their league, someone they would do well to fear.
Hilariously funny in an offbeat, anarchic, sort of way. Plot is fairly random and, if you viewed the movie as a drama, not entirely watertight. But then, who would watch this as a drama? Great script and dialogue that is part-Tarantino, part-Big Lebowski. Throw in some spot-on performances from Michael Pena and Alexander Skarsgard, a director that seems to have a short concentration span and you have a wildly funny roller-coaster of a movie.
As an added bonus, more than enough to offend the average SJW (not that this takes much).
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Hilariously funny in parts, strangely surreal in others, very enjoyable.
Warning: Spoilers
(Originally published on my blog, whingewood.wordpress.com)
The trailer for this made me laugh (the scene with their car and a mime), so that was enough to convince me to go and watch it.
War on Everyone is a buddy-cop black comedy starring Michael Pena and Alexander Skarsgard, who play corrupt cops. The main plot is that a heist occurred and they see the money as theirs.
The comedy was mixed with parts that were quite surreal; the best comparison I can think of is to 1991's Hudson Hawk (a film which to this day is very divisive). Some of the comedy had me laughing until I was nearly crying (the scene in Reykjavik was probably the best example).
Some more examples include when they kick in a door to a house, guns out, they still have the burgers they were eating in their other hands. They find a man bleeding out with a knife in his gut and his wife sat there crying. So they carry on eating their burgers.
Personally, I really enjoyed this film, but it appealed to my sense of humour, which I fully accept may not be considered the norm (I enjoy dark humour; Frankie Boyle is one of my favourite comedians for example). I know that for every person like me that enjoyed this film, there will be at least one person that absolutely hates it.
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Film Review: War On Everyone
Philosopher Thomas Hobbes foretold a future "War of All Against All" in his book Leviathan, published in 1651. In his political/philosophical novel, he wrote his masterpiece during the English Civil War, which occurred from 1642-1651, arguing that a state of sovereignty is the only which way a body of politics can operate, without interference for third party or outside sources and individuals. His "War of All Against All" is an idea that was derived from the 'state of nature argument', where government can only be successful if it is strong, undivided and unified.
Now, I'm not sure if writer/director John Michael McDonagh intentionally wrote a script and titled a picture that could (not only be) so relevant in the United States with regards to government and policing today, but also, be such a comical and cynical interpretation of the very brutalities happening within America involving its citizens and civilians with such bravado, and most of all… balls. One has to wonder, is McDonagh warning everyone, or just laughing at them, especially since it's titled is source from such a serious and foreboding doctrine.
McDonagh, who was born in London, England, but is most notably known for being a very predominant Irish citizen, and the older brother of Martin McDonagh (considered one of the greatest living Irish playwrights today) delved deep, back into crime comedy genre with War On Everyone after The Guard became the most successful Irish Independent film of all time. Similar to The Guard, which starred his frequent collaborator and muse Brendan Gleeson, McDonagh decided to shoot his third film in the United States for the first time, keeping away from his native Irish land, and uses the landscapes of Albuquerque, New Mexico as a hellish field of nightmares. Surrounding his narrative on two very intractable corrupt cops who makes it their mission in life, and in their careers, to make every scumbag and criminal who crosses their path, as miserable and unfortunate as possible, War on Everyone is easily one of the most unsettling yet hard-hitting black comedies of 2016 that leaves all regard out the door.
While the premise and story of War is nothing to marvel at, the film itself, is easily one of the hardest films to look away from and not finish, thanks to the outlandish and quite unexpected direction McDonagh decided to take his story and characters on. Luckily for us, McDonagh decided to venture off with new actors to play the role of intimidating asshole cops on crack, to a new level.
With Peña, an actor who isn't unfamiliar with playing policemen or governing officials in the past, thanks to roles in Babel, Observe and Report, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, Gangster Squad, Vacation, the upcoming CHIPS and of course, one of my favourite of Peña's roles, Mike Zavala in David Ayer's masterpiece End of Watch, Peña could practically get a job as a cop with all his experience in the role. As Peña's partner, McDonagh choose someone who has never played a cop before. Luckily for us, actor Alexander Skarsgård literally stumbled upon the role from a video that went viral, showcasing the actor at a soccer match, drunkenly rooting for his team, leading a chant, and being completely and utterly intoxicated, making not only a huge fool of himself, but showing director McDonagh everything he needed to see for his beloved Terry character. Thanks for Skarsgård behaviour during his intense period of inebriation, the video secured the role for the towering actor, whose character Terry is an un-wreckable force of chaos and brutality with no brake or lever for control, a role Skarsgård completely punches and bruises into us without apology. Skarsgård is absolutely, unapolgetically, relentlessly perfect as Terry.
While every citizen in The United States are well aware of their rights, including the right to remain silent, War is a film that really doesn't say too much, other than offer an unlimited sources of one- liners and crass, crude jokes, heavy racial slander and bizarre perspective of criminals, but also allows the action seen on screen to speak for itself. Certain scenes in the film play off as set pieces in a play, where the intention and purpose of meaning is never really understood or comprehended, showing off personalities of certain characters and their interaction with one another, as well as bizarre interpretation of the coming to reality of a scorn and doomed society. One of these very characters is the introduction of Jackie Harris (Tessa Thompson), who plays Terry's love interest, and inevitable life-partner. The two share very awkward tonal scenes that resemble instances of a musical, a horror and a romantic comedy, yet, Jackie's relationship with Terry reveals absolutely nothing about him, other than his inconsistent ability to enforce ethics and morals to people, without ever compromising his own corrupt personality and desire and obsession with greed.
While Terry and Bob set fire to the world around them, including their own personal and family lives, the two indulge in the perks of having a badge, which include consuming countless narcotics that that they confiscate, including a large portion of cocaine from a mime-on-the-run (do mimes make a noise when you run over them?), large quantities of cash that they use for their own personal use, and beat up physically, verbally and mentally civilian that crosses their path. Luckily for the audience, everyone within the War world has as much as quick witted, vulgar tongue to argue back with are two unluckily antiheroes, that the dialogue is a measure of how far McDonagh's script actually pushing the boundaries. Luckily, no secondary characters are truly able to deliver comebacks that compare to the joint efforts of the corrupt duo. With no regard for women, race, culture or social status, the levels of offence and discrimination are pushed in each and every scene and word that comes out of Bob and Terry's mouths.
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Crazy friggin' movie... I loved it!
I agree with the review "Unstructured Mess," by Greg from Ontario.
Except I come to a much different conclusion: This is simply cinema showing us the utter meaninglessness of it all -- not necessarily a point I agree or disagree with. So we must endure it all, strange, bizarre, baffling, stupid, ridiculous, and so on, all in the midst of an utter wasteland. As such, we can only live in the present moment, the best we can.
The soundtrack is over the top, with its Latino/Rock/Glen Campbell mix. The music makes the meaninglessness bearable!
So as Greg from Ontario writes, it's pure, unstructured mess.
In my opinion, that gives you two choices:
Take it or leave it!
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Worse than I expected.
Alexander Skarsgård and Theo James performed fairly decent, but Michael Peña seemed bored and too monotonic in his role. Interesting story, but weirdly played out. Directing and cinematography was decent. IMO, this film failed to deliver with such a great cast. 6/10 from me.
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If it ain't broke. Break it.
Warning: Spoilers
Bob (Michael Peña) and Terry (Alexander Skarsgård) are cops in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Bob is the brains of the two-some randomly spouting trivia, something only his wife (Stephanie Sigman ) might exceed him at. They are not the most honest of cops and allow a heist to go down so they can rob the robbers, which didn't go well.
Terry drives an indestructible vintage Monte Carlo, a joke that never seemed to grow old. It was not the plot, but the characters and dialogue which made the film as our dishonest cops are brutally honest in their speech as they twist lines..."If you hit a mime with your car, does he make a sound? " From the mind of John Michael McDonagh who gave us "The Guard" and "Calvary." Guide: F-word, sex, nudity.
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Unstructured Mess
Before we even get to our review of War on Everyone, we urge those who have yet to see writer/director John Michael McDonagh's previous works – Calvary, The Guard – to take the time to seek, relish and savor two of the best hidden gems of films that have sneaked in and out of our playlists for the past few years.
McDonagh's latest, War on Everyone, is a cop/buddy comedy that pairs actors Alexander Skarsgård (True Blood) and Michael Peña (End of Watch, The Martian) in a story about two corrupt officers who eventually meet their evil match in present day New Mexico.
Terry (Skarsgård) and Bobby (Peña) seem to have come from the Alonzo Harris School of Policing. That is if Alonzo Harris worked for Police Squad! Terry and Bobby run rampant through the city they are sworn to protect with reckless abandon. They drink and drive, do drugs, threaten criminals and generally just break all the rules in the police handbook between reprimands from their commanding officer played by Paul Rieser (Aliens).
Terry is the heavy drinking womanizer that has the intellect of a Joey Barone. Bobby is the (supposed) smart one who has a family consisting of a wife and two boys that he throws verbal barbs at like he was auditioning for Bad Santa 2. But while on the job, the two are more alike than different in that their goal is to survive each day with civilian disregard.
So the two sniff, drink, shoot, smash, punch, kick and speed through daily challenges all of which seem stitched together without any true cohesive narrative. Whereas this year's The Nice Guys had a dense story coupling two unlikely characters in a plot that develops and builds on each new character introduction, War on Everyone instead treats each new scene and character like a disposable Saturday Night Live skit. Even the two leads don't look like they are having much fun as they plod through the shallow script pages. Only Malcolm Barrett, who plays informant Reggie, shines with scenes that have any appreciative value.
The film ends up being a convoluted mess. John Michael McDonagh can write. His previous efforts confirm that statement. And War on Everyone should have been something that would fit his style. We had hoped to see how a foreigner would write a movie about American violence and policing. Instead, we got War on Everyone, a movie that is so awkward and contains so many scenes that seem so distant from the one just before that it takes McDonagh down a long snake in the Snakes and Ladders Hollywood game.
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War on Everyone...including the audience
Warning: Spoilers
John Michael McDonagh's 'War On Everyone' is great disappointment after 'The Guard' and 'Calvary'.
There's a line early in the script, as two toked-up minor villains peruse a porno, where they complain that the medium has eschewed action for plot: "Without a good script, you ain't got nothing!' This film HAS a good script...or a least the makings of one, and the occasional sizzling one-liner...but it's nowhere near as smart or sassy as it clearly thinks it is.
It's let down woefully by leaden plotting, unlikable characters and very little chemistry between the leading players. Michael Peña's coarsely erudite character is excellent with his screen spouse, Stephanie Sigman - and the film wold have benefited greatly by more of their repartee - but there's no such spark between him and Alexander Skarsgård.
Serial mumbler Caleb Landry Jones minces his way through what COULD have been a memorable role as the main villain's camp henchman - the script seemingly required to mention that his character is American at every opportunity: just as well, you'd never have known, otherwise.
Also, sadly, when the thin plot becomes just too threadbare, the easy Boom-Boom, Bang-Bang option is deployed, too easily and too frequently - in fulfilment of the earlier Porno Prophesy, it seems. Tessa Thompson is beguiling and tries very hard to make the best of a bad job, and is the only redeeming feature of this tired mess.
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A decent 1970s styled buddy cop movie.
I liked Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Pena in it. They had the chemistry that makes for good buddy cop movies.
The buddy cop parts of War on Everyone was really cool too with Paul Reiser as that boss that always comes down on them hard for being good cops(although in the case they are far from good cops). The look and feel of War on Everyone feels like a classic cop show from the 1970s, which was very cool.
But they needed far better material. The movie lacks interest for my taste. Love the concept, thought the implantation of the concept was a bit of a snooze.
Overall, it is worth checking out.
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In trying to be funny and original it failed to deliver on every aspect of what makes movies fun
Greetings from Lithuania.
"War on Everyone" (2016) had some great idea under the concept, but failed to achieve what it intended to do. I got the idea - but i wasn't laughing. You can feel the brilliants in this movie in every scene - the tone, some very rough and rude comedy that pulls no punches, but unfortunately in trying to do this "different" and original film they forgot to make it simply good - "War on Everyone" fails to deliver what it intended to. Here you have Michael Peña, one of the most reliable comic relief and good actors around and he fails to make a single laugh - that is because script was so focused to be rude that it forgot to be funny at the same time. And the whole plot was just a mess, some mix of scenes that does not click.
Overall, "War on Everyone" isn't not a funny movie, nor entertaining, nor involving. I got the idea behind the tone but i wasn't laughing nor i was involved into story, this isn't a good nor even OK film, its a big mess.
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A good mix between Bad Boys and Bad Lieutenant
War on everyone is a crime comedy movie about two corrupt cops are investigating a bank heist that cost 1 million dollars but instead trying to solve the problem they decided to keep the money for their own so we have our movie.Both Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Peña need to make more comedy movie like this because i think they did a good job on portray these characters because every time they show up on screen they makes me laugh so hard with they on-screen charm and wonderful acting.You never know how much of an asshole these guys are when every where they go or everyone they met they just can't help but throwing racist and social satire joke which provide many fun and laugh out loud moment through out the movie.Althrough beside the comedy part the rest of the movie is not that interesting but i glad the movie not falling too deep into the whole crime thing because that is the reason why i enjoy it so much.Overall it fast- paced,it funny and it not taken itself seriously so definitely recommend for everyone who want a good laugh
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An Audacious Black Comedy About Buddy Cops
Warning: Spoilers
"Calvary" writer & director John Michael McDonagh's "War on Everyone" is a quirky, Tarantinoesque, crime thriller about a couple of Albuquerque, New Mexico, police detectives whose broad interpretation of the law keeps their superiors on their backs. The buddy-buddy relationship between Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård of "Straw Dogs") and Bob Bolaño (Michael Peña of "Chips") echoes the likes of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in the "Lethal Weapon" movies. Our protagonists are subversive in every sense of the word, and director John Michael McDonagh has a blast skewering the clichés of the genre. Wow do these cops do whatever that pleases them. Skarsgård and Peña aren't Paul Newman and Robert Redford, but they have some charismatic moments in this off-kilter law & order epic. Monroe is almost off the rails. He is clearly an alcoholic and his idea of parking is ramming another parked card. Bolaño has a wife and two little boys. The little things-the nuances-in McDonagh screenplay provide some insight into the characters. Monroe craves the music of Glenn Campbell. Bolaño loves to complicate everything with philosophical questions. These cops aren't afraid to charge into any predicament and damn the torpedoes full speed ahead. Their long-suffering superior, Lieutenant Gerry Stanton (Paul Reiser of "Beverly Hills Cop"), takes a load of crap from them. Predictably, because "War on Everyone" coasts on clichés during its awkward spots, the two detectives are asked to hand in their badges. The villain drool fiendishly for the opportunity to take them down, but they get the surprise of their lives. You know a movie is definitely weird when it opens with two suit & tie detectives pursuing a mime. They smash in him and appropriate what he was carrying. "Does a mime make a sound when you hit him," Bolaño asks his friend before they ram him and send his body tumbling up their hood, over the roof, and down to the asphalt behind them. Unfortunately, McDonagh cannot maintain those maniac moments when our heroes are at the top of their game. Theo James makes a formidable villain with British aristocracy in his background, and his right-hand man, Russell Birdwell (Caleb Landry Jones of "American Made"), makes a truly despicable villain who like to flaunt a straight-razor. The venerable bulletproof jacket scene is so lame, too. "War on Everyone" is an indie-themed film that fearlessly rushes in where mainstream films fear to go.
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Quirky Cops
Warning: Spoilers
It seems that everyone who's ever seen a movie made by Quentin Tarantino has wanted to make their own crime film filled with quirky characters and strange situations. Most of them don't work. Love him or hate him Tarantino has a certain way of making a movie that makes those things work. But on rare occasion a movie comes along that sort of feels like something he did, not quite but close, and works in spite of itself. WAR ON EVERYONE is one of those kind of movies.
Bob Bolano (Michael Pena) and Terry Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) are two definitely quirky cops. Corrupt but with an inclination to go after criminals the pair are just back on duty and warned on day one not to use excessive force or take bribes. Of course they agree and then rush out to do just that.
Before heading into the office that morning they had gotten a lead they followed that had them surveilling two low level thugs known for armed robbery. Following yet another lead they discover that another known criminal has been hired to be a driver for a heist soon to go down. When they follow up with him they find his wife has stabbed him and his son has run off.
It seems that each lead provides them with more information as well as giving them the opportunity to encounter a number of people. There is the strip club owner who works for the brains behind the heist, a stripper who once dated one of the men in the group, an Irishman who continuously mouths off to them and the brains himself eventually. Along the way Terry continues to drink and Bob continues to tout off facts no matter what the discussion is about.
Eventually the ex-stripper moves in with Terry as does the young runaway boy. It seems that while he might spend most of his time drunk Terry does indeed have a heart of gold. So does Bob in his own way, married to a woman who understands his ways and loves him deeply and passing on his love begrudgingly to his two sons. And while they may be corrupt they're not killers. All that may change.
As the case leads them closer to Lord James Mangan (Theo James), the brains behind the heist, things begin to get rough. Cars are blown up, Terry is beaten to within an inch of his life and threats are made. Retaliations lead to the pair losing the jobs as police detectives and with nothing to lose a final showdown is in the making.
What for all intents and purposes could have been a terrible movie I found this one possessing enough fun to offset the rest of the shortcomings the movie has. Off kilter humor is the biggest plus this film has going for it. I mean when a movie opens up with the two cops driving down an alley towards a mime carrying two bags of drugs and one says to the other "I always wondered if you hit a mime if he would make a sound?" and they then find out? My twisted sense of humor kicks in and immediately I find myself rooting for the good/bad guys.
None of this would matter if you had two incapable stars in the lead roles. The fact that these two seem to work well together and are filled with their characters makes them something to see. Pena in particular shines as Bob. His responsive quips and swipes at historical facts and tidbits of knowledge at the most random of times are timed to perfection and comedy is all about timing. Skarsgard's Terry is a troubled soul who loves his partner and finds more than he bargained for with the people he brings into his life, all in a good way.
The production values here are top notch from lighting to cinematography to directing. The writing may not be quite up to Tarantino standards but it comes close. Even scenes that take place in Iceland (yes I said Iceland, don't ask why or how they got there) are well done and interesting.
When I first started watching this I wasn't sure I'd like it. Something about it said it wasn't going to live up to my expectations. Perhaps because I set the bar low they far exceeded those. My guess is if you watch with no expectations at all except to know that the movie is a bit off the wall you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was and may even end up watching this a second time.
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Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3708886/reviews
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