Movie Review: 'War, Inc.'

Editor's note: This is the second review collected during my recent travels to faraway lands where they get independent films. The first was a review of the film "The Promotion," which - spoiler alert - is a much better film than this one.

"War, Inc." would not inherently be a bad movie due to its content, except for the fact that it's just not very funny or entertaining. No doubt pitched as some sort of mix between "Brazil," "Dr. Strangelove" and "Southland Tales," it's respectable only for its sheer audacity and black-hearted, relentless cynicism, but not because it's good or anything. It just goes so far over the top, it seems to distract you from that fact.

And on paper, no doubt, it seemed like a fine idea. John Cusack in a hitman comedy? The last time that happened, we got "Grosse Pointe Blank," which is a really funny movie. Add a supporting cast that includes Joan Cusack, Marisa Tomei (breaking her streak by not appearing naked in this movie), Dan Aykroyd and Ben Kingsley, and you have something that could conceivably be pretty funny.

But this humor is the blackest of the black. The film is set in a not-too-distant future when large corporations - one of which is headed by a former vice president (Aykroyd), in a huge stretch - fund their own armies and start their own wars, all the while spouting off platitudes congratulating themselves for repairing the infrastructures of countries they destroyed. (These are actually amusing moments.)

Hauser (John Cusack) is the troubled hitman protagonist, a man hired by a corporation to assassinate a mid-level politician in the dubiously-named fictional Middle East country Turaqistan. Hauser's a troubled fellow - haunted by something from his past, the only way he's found to cope is by taking shots of hot sauce. (This is a joke that falls flat every time.)

As his cover, he is put in charge of a public relations celebration, which will mark the wedding of the "Britney Spears of mid-central Asia," Yonica Babyeah (a not-so-surprisingly out-of-place and awkward Hilary Duff). Needless to say, things get complicated, as insurgents bomb buildings - not necessarily because they mind the occupation, though, but because the locals want to get famous by appearing in a beheading video (and not as the beheaded). Tomei shows up as a journalist, and so does John McLaughlin as himself, occasionally serving as a sort of Greek chorus bemoaning the downfall of serious journalism.

So: it's a satire about the Iraq invasion, the irresponsibility and irrelevance of the media, consumerism, politics and George W. Bush (who, in the film, is referred to as "you-know-who" and is author of an autobiography titled "How I Conquered the World and Dealt with Issues with My Father").

And that's all well and good. I wouldn't mind a movie like that necessarily, but as a sort of added bonus, it'd be preferable if that movie was, you know, good. "War, Inc." packs too much in an obviously low-budget, small-feeling film that hits the obvious notes too frequently and features a (mostly) great cast that's largely squandered.

Only John Cusack feels like he's trying, but this is obviously a personal project; he also served as co-writer and producer. Kingsley's silly CIA agent is caricature, as is Aykroyd's cameo. And I almost hate to say it, but Duff is just weak. I don't know if it's her fault or not; I like the idea that she'd agree to be in a movie like this in which she basically lampoons the type of teeny-bopper singer she built her career off being, but she's just an awkward screen presence, further made worse by her attempt at a Middle Eastern accent.

I won't lie and say it's not occasionally clever. It is. But only occasionally. For every over-the-top, blindingly preachy joke that falls flat, there's a wry one-liner that hits. But it's not enough to make a movie with good intentions. One day, a talented filmmaker might make a "Dr. Strangelove" out of the Iraq situation - but this isn't it.

"War, Inc."

Starring John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff and Joan Cusack

Directed by Joshua Seftel

Runtime: 107 minutes

MPAA rating: R

Critic's rating: * ?

Bottom line: "War, Inc." is a satire of just about everything wrong with society, sure, but it would help if it was funny.