War on Everyone
Michael Peña and Alexander Skarsgård are a pair of drug-snorting, give-zero-crap cops in this black comedy from the writer-director of The Guard and Calvary.
In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Terry Monroe (Skarsgård) and Bob Bolaño (Peña) are two corrupt cops who set out to blackmail and frame every criminal unfortunate enough to cross their path. Things take a sinister turn, however, when they try to intimidate someone who is more dangerous than they are. Or is he?
- Director:
- John Michael McDonagh ('Calvary', 'The Guard')
- Writer:
- John Michael McDonagh
- Cast:
- Michael PeñaAlexander SkarsgårdTheo JamesTessa ThompsonCaleb Landry JonesStephanie SigmanMalcolm BarrettDylan Kenin
Reviews & comments
Not quite hell (more like creative limbo)
Ouch. John Michael McDonagh's debut feature, The Guard, was a passably cute Irish variation on the mismatched cop formula. His last film, the near-brilliant Calvary, was definitely a huge step forward (do see it, if you haven't). So it's disappointing that his third film should feel like two big steps backward: War on Everyone finds him in buddy cop...
Variety
pressMakes a peculiar sort of statement, riffing on such violent genres as Westerns and cop movies, even as it questions why the country puts guns (and badges) into the hands of angry misfits.
Vanity Fair
pressThe era-defying costumes, the old fashioned cars, the funk-music score, and retro horizontal wipes and canted angles all give War on Everyone a place outside of time that helps some of the more abrasive comedy go down smoothly.
The Telegraph
pressIf the jokes don’t work, it’s just racism for the hell of it, lip-smacking violence directed at whatever stereotype you most despise, and a film that’s no use to anyone.
The Guardian
pressThere’s fun to be had in the shtick, but the point? It’s missing, presumed dead.
Stuff
pressPena and Skarsgard are fitfully funny, but you can't help but feel that their characters and their motivations (or lack thereof) are fairly one-dimensional.
Empire Magazine
pressMcDonagh — cutting with old-school line-wipes, cranking up the Glen Campbell — is clearly having a blast. The feeling’s contagious.
Variety
pressMakes a peculiar sort of statement, riffing on such violent genres as Westerns and cop movies, even as it questions why the country puts guns (and badges) into the hands of angry misfits.
Vanity Fair
pressThe era-defying costumes, the old fashioned cars, the funk-music score, and retro horizontal wipes and canted angles all give War on Everyone a place outside of time that helps some of the more abrasive comedy go down smoothly.
The Telegraph
pressIf the jokes don’t work, it’s just racism for the hell of it, lip-smacking violence directed at whatever stereotype you most despise, and a film that’s no use to anyone.
The Guardian
pressThere’s fun to be had in the shtick, but the point? It’s missing, presumed dead.
Stuff
pressPena and Skarsgard are fitfully funny, but you can't help but feel that their characters and their motivations (or lack thereof) are fairly one-dimensional.
Empire Magazine
pressMcDonagh — cutting with old-school line-wipes, cranking up the Glen Campbell — is clearly having a blast. The feeling’s contagious.
Not quite hell (more like creative limbo)
Ouch. John Michael McDonagh's debut feature, The Guard, was a passably cute Irish variation on the mismatched cop formula. His last film, the near-brilliant Calvary, was definitely a huge step forward (do see it, if you haven't). So it's disappointing that his third film should feel like two big steps backward: War on Everyone finds him in buddy cop...
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