This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: July 11, 2008 - I've watched "War, Inc." twice and I'm still not sure what to think about it.
Yes, it's funny in spots, and the filmmakers are certainly acting with the best good intentions. Besides being a fine actor, John Cusack - who produced and co-wrote the film - has written many eloquent and thoughtful pieces on the Huffington Post and elsewhere expressing his objection to the war in Iraq. And "Con Air" notwithstanding, there is no reason to doubt his sincerity or his taste in choosing movie projects.
Mark Leyner, who also contributed to the script, is one of the funniest writers alive (check out "The Tetherballs of Bougainville" for proof, or take a look at this wonderfully outdated fan page) , and Jeremy Pikser, the third credited writer, contributed to "Bulworth," the best political satire of the '90s (OK, I know it really doesn't have much competition).
And there is no doubt that the current War Without End (TM) is ripe for its own "Dr. Strangelove." Unfortunately, getting one requires more than good intentions.
Cusack plays a hitman/all-purpose clean-up agent sent to "Turaqistan" to assassinate a local politician while, as cover, helping staging a trade show built around the upcoming marriage of a Britney-styled pop star named Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff). He is, of course, disgusted at the violence, the media manipulation, the outright greed and corruption in the area, all of which leads to a few appropriately funny/indignant scenes.
The points Cusack wants to make are logical, his disgust at the corruption and commercialization of the war quite real. But "War, Inc" doesn't quite make the leap from casual observation to full-fledged political satire. Its punches, ultimately, seem far too restrained. The best moments come from Cusack's character (he drinks hot sauce to deaden his nerves, and his closest relationship is with his car's HAL-like communications system) rather than from the environment, but they're more absurd than satirical. (The film could almost be seen as a sequel/companion to Cusack's "Grosse Point Blank," as the casting of Dan Aykroyd and Joan Cusack hints.)
And the broader the script gets, the more it loses ground. It's too easy to dismiss a make-believe "Middle Eastern quagmire" no matter how much it resembles a real one. (There's a reason Kubrick made his film about a nuclear conflict between America and Russia, rather than about an imaginary "Marxistan.") By offering a picture of a cartoon war zone, it can only allude to the presence of the real one. Aiming for a knockout, it settles for a shrug.
"War, Inc." is playing at the Plaza Frontenac. Watch the film's trailer here .