In this satire of the commercialization and 'lightheartedness' of war, John Cusack plays Brand Hauser, an assassin sent to to 'Turaqistan' to take out Omar Sharif, who is doing some oil business that will spell trouble for the former Vice President of the US's own company. In addition to this, Hauser must juggle his fake position as a trade show producer, a wedding for pop princess Yonica (Hillary Duff),and a nosy Liberal journalist, Natalie (Marisa Tomei).

Assessing the technical aspects:

• The acting (by the main characters,at least) was good, as was to be expected. Some of John Cusack's dialogue was quite obviously not written for him as he often seemed uncomfortable saying it. . . maybe unrealistic is more accurate. Joan put forth a great, and often hilarious, performance. Marisa Tomei, while I've never been a big fan of hers, was more than suitable for the role and worked well. Hillary Duff, however, was pretty terrible. They needed an attractive Middle Eastern (or Russian, or whatever that accent was supposed to be) pop-star. Unfortunately, they went 0 for 3 with her.

• Like I said above, the writing seemed a little stiff and mismatched at points, especially John Cusack's dialogue. Not much of it, mind, but some. The story also got a bit ludicrous at points, which is fine for a satire to a point, but it took it to a whole new level here. Luckily, the Cusacks and Tomei keep a relatively cool, calm demeanor throughout, and that makes a nice even mix of the craziness of the film and the levelheadedness of the actors.

• Joshua Seftel, who previously had a drought of real credits to his name, did a fine job with a rather wide-spectrum film. He handled the small ($10 million) budget very well, stretching it to make it appear to be much more. Seftel also managed to nicely blend the humour of the story. . . with the painful and hard-to-watch parts of the real war (including slaughter of civilians, etc.).

• As far as the general satire goes, its exaggerated look on the commercializing of war is very well done, especially the 'Golden Palace Poker' ads on the U.S. tanks. At points, it becomes a little too much, but, in the end, it still accurate portrays what it's going for an a young 'Mel Brooks'-type of style.

The CIA man, Brand Hauser, is a man of few words and a lot of action. He is seen as the story begins going into a saloon in a remote Alaskan post. We are not prepared for what he does after a shot of Tabasco sauce! Hauser, who pilots his own private jet, has deep conversations with someone through a device in the panel of the plane. He even gets to talk to the US vice-president, who talks from the privacy of his own bathroom while engaging in some bodily functions.

This political satire makes fun of the folly of the war on Turakistan by placing the action in the middle of the conflict, where Hauser goes to take part in a trade fair sponsor by the powerful Tamerlane corporation. On his arrival in the country, Hauser is assisted by the media expert, Marsha Dillon. The agent has been sent to take care of oil minister Omar Sharif who dares to think he can get an oil pipe line through the country, something that clashes with the Tamarlane group's interests in the country.

Directed by Joshua Seftel, who has worked on television, and based on the screenplay in which the star of the film, John Cusack helped produce, "War, Inc" deals with issues and scandals too many to go into detail. Suffice it to say that no one is spared at all. Parallels with the present conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan are clearly what the creators intended all along, something the last administration probably didn't appreciate, or even vice-president Cheney. Mr. Seftel has some success in presenting a chaotic situation in a satiric way.

John Cusack is all over the film. He makes a case for his Brand Hauser. Marisa Tomei plays a leftist oriented journalist that has come to cover the war and has too many questions that go unanswered. Joan Cusack is also on hand to give one of her usual funny performances. The surprise is Hillary Duff, who goes almost unrecognized. Ben Kingsley is also seen in a pivotal role.

Credit must go to John Cusack by daring to do the impossible with a subject that not many would have touch with a ten foot pole.

By all accounts, "War, Inc." is an allegory for the current state of the world. Set in a fictional Middle Eastern country (a representation of Iraq) occupied...not by the US army, but by a private security firm (an obvious allusion to Blackwater). John Cusack is the star, but Joan Cusack's character is the best in the movie.

Bill O'Reilly called this movie propaganda. He knows a thing or two about propaganda; he's the master of it. While the movie does have a strong political bend, it's taking a serious inspection of what's going on in the world. Throughout the movie, the tanks and weapons are emblazoned with advertisements.

So I certainly recommend this movie. It's a real look at what war has become. Also starring Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff, Dan Aykroyd and Ben Kingsley.