Prepare yourself for another round of bad boy cops in War on Everyone, the latest from writer/director John Michael McDonagh.
While sticking to his earned reputation for sharp-witted and thoroughly inappropriate humor, McDonagh takes a few steps away from his normal setup in his third outing. Gone is Brendan Gleeson and the familiar Irish setting, instead taking advantage of American police’s battered reputation as loose cannons with badges. There’s a lot of room for criticism there, and if McDonagh’s Calvary is any indication, then War on Everyone won’t back away from the thorny social issues surrounding its main characters’ profession.
Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Peña star as the morality-challenged cops, who chase a million dollar bust in the hopes of getting their hands on the money. They’ll use their badges and guns so haphazardly that only soggy wigs and battered mimes will be left in their wake, hopefully with themselves as winners in the end.
Black comedies like this are almost a trademark of Irish cinema, and it may strike fans as odd not to hear the lines delivered in a brogue. It’s possible that general audiences will mistake it for a buddy comedy knockoff instead of darkly funny criticism. Whether audiences will be able to distinguish between the two, and more importantly whether McDonagh can thread that needle, remains to be seen.
War on Everyone is directed by John Michael McDonagh and stars Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Peña. It will be released in the U.K. on October 7th, 2016. For international release dates, click here.
Do you think War on Everyone will be more of a black comedy or a buddy cop film? Let us know in the comments!
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.