Blistering performances.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

I'd like to begin my review by thanking John Cusack for taking the time to write such a convincing review anonymously to try to trick people into watching this "comedy" film. I picked this movie as a gag gift for my brother from the dollar bin, since it was a blatant rip off of the movie "Lord of War" which is truly a quality, underrated film, and I figured it may be good for a laugh. After watching, I have such regret at the loss of a dollar and over an hour of precious time. I truly have no idea what other positive reviewers saw that I did not grasp, the acting and script were so painful, the plot so convoluted, the violence so pointless, and none of the jokes funny. Please do not make my mistake and watch this film, unless you just want to see Hilary Duff dressed in very sexy clothing or if you have the hots for John Cusack. If the idea of a film exposing American weapons used in foreign wars and the ethical dilemmas faced by those involved with this business PLEASE I beg you watch "Lord of War" instead! It has Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto! Anyway, I just wrote because the next time I pick a movie with the intent to laugh at it's ridiculousness, I only hope some kind soul might have posted a review to warn me if it's a total bomb like this film was. Thank you for reading.

"I don't want to sell anything, buy anything, or process anything as a career. I don't want to sell anything bought or processed, or buy anything sold or processed, or process anything sold, bought, or processed, or repair anything sold, bought, or processed." - Lloyd Dobler "War, Inc", a weak comedy by director Joshua Seftel, stars John Cusack as an assassin who occasionally works for the US military. The film is a loose sequel to Cusack's "Grosse Pointe Blank", a 1997 cult favourite. Cusack himself spearheaded "War, Inc", co-financing the film and co-writing its screenplay.A satire of the United States' 21st century Middle Eastern crusades, "War, Inc" spends most of its time making valid points in the most blunt ways possible. And so we watch as the US military throws money and bombs at social problems, as Middle Eastern monarchs and oil barons strike unholy alliances with Western muscle-men, as private defence firms run amok (Blackwater, Academi etc), as various spokesmen spew Orwellian double-speak, as vulgar capitalism comes to the Middle East, as "vertically integrated" corporations profit off both bombs and prosthetics, and as various journalists are deftly manipulated by a war machine that specialises in selling wars.Comedy – especially satire – tends to work best on screen when it adopts a minimalist stance. The more money on screen, the more cluttered, and less searing, your message becomes. "War, Inc" thinks its the next "Dr Strangelove", or perhaps "Duck Soup", but those films were sparse and knew when to reign things back. "War, Inc", in contrast, is mostly obvious and excessive.A number of John Cusack's films from the 1980s saw him playing a teenager who flirts with joining the military. His "Grosse Pointe" then revolved around a kid who returns from the military to become a corporate assassin. That film saw Cusack wrestling over whether or not to dump this deadly career in favour for something more wholesome. "War, Inc" repeats this narrative arc, Cusack playing a little devil who grows to despise everything he represents. "I like killing people as much as the next guy," his character spells out, "but I signed up to kill the bad ones! Health clinics, trade unionists, journalists, agricultural co-ops, catholic liberation theologians, impoverished Colombian coffee farmers, these are the barbarians that are brave opponents of civilisation? We turned Central America into a graveyard! Whoever momentarily interrupts the accumulation of our wealth, we pulverise! I'm just not feeling good about that anymore, sir!" "War, Inc" co-stars Ben Kingsley in another wholly ridiculous, racially dubious role. This was also director Joshua Seftel's first feature length fictional film, and it shows. He's bitten off more than he can chew, and the script he's been saddled with is messy, less clever than it thinks it is, and largely preaches to the converted.6/10 – Disappointing. See "Grosse Pointe Blank", Alex Cox's "Walker" and Pontecorvo's "Burn".

This movie made me think often of the directorial style of Terry Gilliam. It has the same hallucinatory feel, except for the fact that it remains more focused on actual facts than much of Gilliam's work. There is also a greater ferocity in its indictment of the modern status quo, and a more detailed exposure of the cold machinations behind the curtains of the Great American Imperialistic Extravaganza. I found this movie to be well constructed, with excellent acting all round. This film is viciously, tragically funny, right up to the final frame. Perhaps the reviewers and voters who panned War Inc. were made to feel too uncomfortable by the truth it serves up, and ended up shooting the messenger.

This really didn't work at all for me. I like John Cusack, he's a talented actor - but his choice of film roles is sometimes questionable. He co-produced this one and also had a hand in the writing, so I guess he's got to take his share of the blame for turning what could have been a sharp satire into a turgid, vaguely confusing drama.Cusack plays Brand Hauser, a hit-man of a future in which corporations are hired by nations to fight their wars for them. Thus, we see tanks trundling into battle with posters for Golden Palace Casino pasted to their sides. Sadly, that's about as cutting as the satire gets, and as the story unfolds, spending way too much time focusing on the non-romance of Hauser and journalist Marisa Tomei, the number of missed opportunities keeps mounting until they reach an embarrassingly high quotient.The film has a few moments where it briefly comes to life, but they're few and far between. Cusack gives a typically solid performance, while big sister Joan steals all her scenes in a calculatedly over-the-top performance.