Miles Teller is David Packouz who scrapes a living out as a masseuse in Miami where he resides with his girlfriend Iz (Ana De Armas) but he is tired living on the bread line so in an attempt to break out of the slump he decides to invest his life savings in bed sheets but when this venture fails miserably and he finds out that Iz is pregnant David is desperate to find an additional means of income. When at a funeral he bumps into his old high school friend Efraim Diveroli (Johan Hill) who has set up his own company, AEY, which acts as a middle man in the selling of arms to the US Government. While initially sceptical David quickly realises just how much earning potential there is so he agrees to work for Efraim, all the while pretending to his girlfriend that he is still selling sheets.

As the business grows both David and Efraim get deeper and deeper into the business leading to them making even more money which in turns allows them to bid for more profitable contracts and even expanding the business to take on staff. When a deal arrives to supply arms to the Afghan military, which is worth hundreds of millions they decided that this is the big one but such a big contract is proving too much for the guys so after an encounter with legendary arms dealer Henry Girard (Bradley Cooper) they decide to utilise his experience to locate a hundred million rounds of AK47 ammunition in Albania which in turn allows them to place their bid although their naivety leads to them massively underbidding. When thing start to go wrong the guys find themselves getting deeper into the mire trying desperately to find solutions but when the FBI start to poke their nose into the business their house of cards begins to crumble and things take a nasty turn.

All through this movie I kept things just how like a cut price Scorsese movie this was with many similarities to both Goodfellas and The Wolf Of Wall Street, the protagonists are bad guys, there’s drug taking which gets out of control, the unpredictable character calling the shots, the excellent use of music to enhance scenes and the freeze frame with voice over moments. I’m not saying it is anywhere near that class but it certainly suited the tale and subject matter. The difference here is that I felt no sympathy for Teller, not because of his acting which was good but because he came across as spineless and easily led. Always being manipulated by Hill and most of the time knowing exactly what was going on but rarely doing anything about it even when his relationship with Armas, who acts as the moral compass in the movie but is still more than happy with her new lavish lifestyle, is straining because of his constant lies. He’s sold as this good guy at heart but didn’t come across that way from his actions. Hill was excellent as Diveroli, a loose cannon who will do whatever it takes for the cash and watch out for his laugh which itself both hilarious and evil depending on the context of its use.

There’s a certain ironic feel to the contents this film no more so that very early where the real life David Packouz is sitting in an old folk home singing Don’t Fear The Reaper on acoustic guitar. Director Todd Phillips who also brought us the Hangover movies does a decent job of keeping the tension and action moving and keeps us intrigued, however the movies characters are very unbalanced which causes some tonal issues. The chemistry between Hill and Teller is excellent and gives us most of the best moments even when the story is in its slower pieces. Although having a pivotal role in the second part of the movie Cooper has very little screen time although it was nice to see him play the unemotional big shot, despite the off putting enlarging of his eyes through his glasses giving him a slightly comical feel and when on screen you hung on his word as his lack of facial expressions left you in no doubt that this was a man you didn’t cross.

In the end the movie tries to be too clever for it’s own good and it gets lost in not knowing if it’s a buddy caper movie, a crime drama about gun smuggling or a tale of a man who’s life spirals out of control and he is forced along on a ride he is unequipped to deal with. If you leave the analysis aside it’s a good comedy drama elevated by another excellent performance by Hill.