War, Inc.: Mid-2000s Madness on Steroids

So, you know when you’re sitting in your cozy Västerbotten cottage on a Sunday afternoon, the snow softly sifting down outside, and you think, “Wow, I need some ridiculous satire in my life right now”? Well, War, Inc. is your ticket. This film, crammed with all sorts of bonkers ideas, brings John Cusack, the brooding ‘80s heartthrob, back on screen in a role where he’s part assassin, part corporate tool. Sounds crazy, right? Yeah, it kinda is.

Hilary Duff as a pop star dressed in clothes that make you question the entire fabric of sanity itself? Check. Marisa Tomei doing the jaded journalist thing? Double-check. And the cherry on top? Ben Kingsley, of all people, playing a character so eccentric it feels like he’s got one foot in Monty Python territory. The director, Joshua Seftel, doesn’t hold back. It’s a bit like he’s thrown the script into a blender and hit the “puree” button.

Watching War, Inc., I felt like I was back in 2008, an era when we hadn’t heard of Tik-Tok, but everyone had a Myspace page. Just thinking of how the movie tackles commercialization and its absurdities reminded me of that one time during my short stint writing for a local Swedish paper. I was assigned to cover a bizarre pop group whose lyrics were all about grocery shopping, would you believe? The look on that lead singer’s face—much like Duff’s character—perfectly captured the odd beauty of commercial satire.

I’d lie if I said War, Inc. hit every mark for me; some moments made me scratch my head more than laugh. But it’s the kind of weird film you watch with friends, laugh at, and forget about for years until someone randomly brings it up. Then you all share a collective “Did that really happen?” moment. Grab some lösgodis and give it a go; it may not be the best Swedish fika for your brain, but it’ll give you a good chuckle.

Check the trailer below