Directed by Patrick Hughes — Screenplay by Patrick Hughes.
It is so strange that one of the biggest Netflix releases in the first half of the year is titled War Machine. Now, you might be thinking that you don’t really see how that is odd or particularly significant. But if you, like me, have paid attention to Netflix’s releases over the years, since they became a major streaming service, then you would know that one of the first major Netflix film acquisitions was that of David Michôd’s War Machine, a satirical war film starring Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, Ben Kingsley, and others. That 2017 release was a largely forgettable flick that is probably rarely seen these days, as it is likely lost in the vast Netflix library by now, but you would think that Netflix wouldn’t want to create confusion about two of their own releases. Although the 2017 release was a satirical war film and the 2026 flick is more at home alongside other sci-fi action films like it, the title isn’t the only thing these two movies have in common, as they’re both, in one way or another, related to America’s presence in Afghanistan. So, as you might be asking yourself, which is the better film at the end of the day? At the end of the day, I’m not sure one is drastically better than the other.
Patrick Hughes’ War Machine follows an unnamed Staff Sergeant (played by Alan Ritchson), who, as seen in the film’s opening scenes, was one of multiple soldiers attacked in Afghanistan a few years earlier. The Sergeant was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in the aftermath of the initial attack, which, ultimately, saw his brother (played by Jai Courtney), also in the military, die. Our protagonist had begrudgingly promised his brother that they would both apply to become Army Rangers, so, in the first act of the film, he attends the assessment and selection boot camp in the hope that he can become an Army Ranger in his brother’s memory. During the final simulated exercise, called the Death March, which our protagonist is assigned to be the team leader, the team of recruits runs into something that they find out is not a part of the mission. Suddenly, they find themselves across from a huge walking machine of alien design that immediately targets, hunts, and tries to kill our protagonist and the team he leads.
I know for a fact that I’m not the first one to say this, but it is baffling to me that this film is called War Machine and not Death March, i.e., what the entire film is about. If anything, the current generic title is a little bit of a spoiler. In any case, the genericness of the film’s title, from another perspective, also feels appropriate given the fact that it is not the only aspect of the film that is extremely unoriginal. The film feels like a bunch of other better films blended together, but, unfortunately, the familiarity of its bits and pieces is just about the only noteworthy thing about the film. You can’t miss how much it borrows from the original Predator film, then there’s the extended tank chase sequence (and one scene that precedes it), which borrows heavily from Jurassic Park, and, as if that wasn’t enough, the final confrontation feels like a direct reference to Aliens. Borrowing from, or referencing, other great films is totally fine, but if you can’t also showcase originality or a deeper message, then the whole thing starts to feel hollow.
Supporting characters are paper-thin, the central boot camp plot structure is cliched, the central character arc is quite generic, and the performances aren’t particularly memorable either. Jai Courtney is only in the opening scenes and thus doesn’t really have any time to make much of an impression. Dennis Quaid and Esai Morales, who play the men in charge of the assessment and selection boot camp, play incredibly generic military men, and the actors are only really there to add some kind of gravitas to the film. Then there’s Alan Ritchson, who is having a little bit of a cultural moment these days. I confess that I haven’t seen his Jack Reacher show, but I remember seeing him in Blue Mountain State back in the day, and recently, I liked him in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. I had hoped that this film would allow him to flex his acting muscles and show what kind of dramatic actor he is, but I don’t think there’s much here in this film. He has one really good scene, where he explains, with intensity and his heart on his sleeve, how he won the Silver Star for what happened on the worst day in his life. That’s a good scene, but the film mostly just uses him for the purpose of him fitting into its action star mold.
Now, I should say that I don’t think this is a bad film. I like that it is mostly shot on location, I think it features some really strong stuntwork, and the action scenes are capably shot. I think my favorite action sequence was the aforementioned tank-esque chase scene, as it featured some solid and intense panicked camera movements inside the tank, and I thought that really elevated an otherwise unoriginal scene. I also really like that for, like, thirty minutes, it hides its sci-fi aspirations pretty well. But, ultimately, what I like about this film doesn’t outweigh the things that work against it. I think this is a perfectly watchable sci-fi action streaming flick, but it is unoriginal and, frankly, relatively unremarkable. That does not at all mean you can’t have a good time with it, but it just means it isn’t the great genre star vehicle for Alan Ritchson that I hoped it would be.
5.5 out of 10
– Review written by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
