War Dogs (15) Odeon, ABC, Cineworld Poole *** 

BASED on an article in Rolling Stone magazine and a subsequent book, War Dogs heavily dramatises the true story of two enterprising twenty somethings, who became multi-millionaires as arms dealers to the US military.

Director Todd Phillips, mastermind of The Hangover films, and co-writer Jason Smilovic don’t let the truth get in the way of spinning an entertaining yarn.

They embellish the jaw-dropping rags-to-riches narrative with a hare-brained chase through the notorious Triangle of Death to the south of Baghdad, and some fizzing one-liners, which are used as chapter headings to bookmark each stage of the journey.

Miles Teller and Jonah Hill, who garnered numerous awards for their eye-catching work in Whiplash and The Wolf Of Wall Street respectively, are an incendiary double-act.

They clamber over various obstacles thrown in their characters’ paths and brazenly wisecrack in the face of death.

Bolstered by strong performances from the two leads, War Dogs is an engrossing and frequently uproarious comedy of errors.

Phillips and Smilovic’s script s also crafts some big laughs like when the buddies visit a weapons expo in Las Vegas and David pithily describes the event as “Comic-Con with grenades”.

The Purge: Election Year (15) Odeon, Cineworld Poole ***

SOBERING political reality trumps blood-saturated fiction in the third instalment of James DeMonaco’s horror series, set in a dystopian America which has legalised murder for 12 hours every March to sate the population’s bloodlust and reduce crime levels for the rest of the year.

The original film, released in 2013, was a guilty pleasure fusing tension with explosions of shocking violence.

A gruesome follow-up, The Purge Anarchy, fell short of expectations and now The Purge: Election Year polls a similarly lukewarm offering.

Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, Cineworld Poole **

AMERICAN rapper RZA elegantly sums up the fleeting nature of fame during his cameo appearance in Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone's musical mockumentary.

“The higher you get, the harder you fall. Ask any coconut,” sermonises the hip-hop superstar.

These words of wisdom are aimed at sweet, yet corruptible, Conner Friel (Andy Samberg), who sells out his childhood pals to land a solo record deal and secure his moment in the social media spotlight.

Part cautionary tale, part buddy comedy, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping gleefully lampoons music documentaries though it runs out of ideas for a lacklustre second half.