War on Everyone

Breaking just about every societal rule in terms of political correctness, John Michael McDonagh’s latest film isn’t exactly one for the hypersensitive. Offending just about every race, nationality and creed, War on Everyone is indeed, just that.

Terry (Alexander Skarsgård) and Bob (Michael Peña) are an unlikely pair of corrupt cops from Albuquerque who have a penchant for violence, drugs and liquor. Together they seek to absolve New Mexico of criminal scum through unconventional means and, in true bad-cop style, take great pleasure in doing so. However things take a turn for the worst when the pair become meddled in a case which puts their morals and wits to the test.

Both Skarsgård and Peña play complete polar opposites: Terry is a chiseled, boozy bachelor and has a passion for Glen Campbell whereas Bob has the whole family package complete with an intellectually superior, beatiful wife and two overindulged children. As well as their characters, both Skarsgård and Peña somewhat differ in character, yet the two have such an enigmatic energy on screen that it just seems to work.

It is a film slightly removed from McDonagh’s previous hit The Calvary, yet this can only stand as a testimony to his talent and adaptability. Where The Calvary was relatively tame in its satire of faith and humanity, War on Everyone is not. Morally, it can be a challenge yet it is wonderfully innovative in its approach, making light of serious socio-political issues by tackling it with witty and cleverly crafted comedy.

Dark, twisted and side-splittingly funny, this is a film pushes the boundaries of comedy to the extreme and revitalises the buddy cop genre in a fresh and interesting way. This is an underdog which you don’t want to miss.

Chloe Sizer

War on Everyone is released nationwide on 7^th October 2016.

Watch the trailer for War on Everyone here: