War, Inc.

War, Inc. is a 2008 satire/BlackComedy about an ex-CIA assassin named Hauser played by John Cusack who works for the Halliburton-esque company Tamerlane. As the movie opens he's being sent on assignment to the recently "liberated" country of Turaqistan to kill an oil executive from a neighboring nation named Omar Sharif, because Sharif is a barrier to Tamerlane's interests. Hauser's cover is a producer of a trade show demonstrating the effectiveness of Tamerlane's campaign, which basically puts him in charge of everything PR-related, from reeling in leftist journalist Natalie Hagelhausen (Marisa Tomei), who Hauser has a crush on, to managing the wedding of Yonica Babyyeah (Hilary Duff), a slutty Central Asian popstar. And Hauser's much-buried conscience is starting to flare up again...

Tropes used in War, Inc. include:

• Affably Evil: Hauser, though he's more of a dark Anti-Hero.
• A Handful for An Eye: Hauser blinds Walker by pouring hot sauce into his eyes.
• The Atoner: Hauser, after saving Natalie in a war zone.
• Badass: Hauser
  • Badass Bookworm: Natalie Hagelhausen
• Big Bad / The Dragon: An interesting case where Walken is the Big Bad of this story, but is himself only The Dragon to the former Vice President.
• Black Comedy: So much so it makes Doctor Strangelove feel like a feel-good romp.
• Byronic Hero: Hauser
• The Chessmaster: Walken.
• Combat Pragmatist: Hauser. He uses a bottle opener to stab someone in the side of the head and uses Walken in his wheelchair as a shield while charging down a hallway.
• Crapsack World: Turaqistan.
• Deadpan Snarker: Hauser and Marsha - which makes sense, as they're played by John and Joan Cusack
• Downer Ending: Our heroes escape from Turaqistan on Yonica's plane, and start to talk about what they're going to do next only for the camera to pull back, revealing a cruise missile following them. The scene then cuts to a announcement by the former Vice President declaring the events of the previous night an Ugigi terrorist attack, and declaing war on Ugigistan.
• Every One Remembers the Stripper: The only scene critics seemed to talk about was one where Yonica sticks a scorpion down her short shorts and starts moaning in ecstasy.
• Expy: Dan Aykroyd's character is basically Dick Cheney. Which is odd, as another character makes a reference to Dick Cheney later on...
  • Also John and Joan Cusack basically reprise their roles from Grosse Pointe Blank.
• Faux Affably Evil: Walken.
• For the Evulz: Walken's revenge plan is simply to make Hauser suffer.
• Fun with Subtitles: Everything Omar Sharif says is subtitled, even though he's speaking perfectly comprehensible English
• Genre Savvy: Hauser, Marsha, Natalie and Omar Sharif know all too well what kind of Crapsack World they are currently inhabiting.
• G-Rated Drug: Hauser regularly drinks shotglasses full of hot sauce to deal with his guilt about his job.
• Jerkass: Uk-mi-fay and his entire posse.
• Knight Templar: Walken.
• Large Ham: Walken.
• Left the Background Music On: When Hauser is questioned about his family, he get depressed and the lively music stops. He then gets up and puts the needle back on the record player.
• Meta Casting: Hilary Duff as a slutty pop star (also a Take That at other pop stars whose personas are sluttier than Hilary's)
• No Name Given: Dan Aykroyd's character is only ever referred to as "The former Vice President".
• Qurac: Turaqistan, which seems to be a blend of about 40% Iraq and 60% Afghanistan
• The Reveal: Two, which come one right after the other. First, that the Viceroy is Walken. Second, that Hauser is Yonica's father
• Shout-Out: They did name a character Omar Sharif, after all.
• Spiritual Sequel: To Grosse Pointe Blank - John and Joan Cusack basically fill their exact same roles, Dan Aykroyd plays a supporting character in each movie, and both movies involve an assassin growing tired of his job considering quitting after falling in love
• The Stoic: Hauser.
• Take That: At the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, George Bush, Dick Cheney, embedded journalists, and slutty pop stars
• Trailers Always Spoil: Ben Kingsley is featured in both posters for the movie and the trailer, which is odd given his relative lack of screen time until he is revealed to be the Big Bad.
• The Voice: Two of them - Jerry, the "Guide Star" operator who functions as Hauser's de facto therapist, and the Viceroy, who only communicates via a screen of always shifting famous Americans and a heavily altered computer voice who turns out to be Walken.
• Villainous Breakdown: Marsha becomes extremely unhinged as the movie progresses, culminating in her screaming her head off at Walken's confession.