War Machine – Review

A movie that is hard to talk about without ruining the plot, War Machine mixes in a few genres into an okay action flick. The story definitely does not do most anything new, but there are some okay qualities to this movie that make it worth a venture for those seeking some shit blowing up.

In Kandahar, Afghanistan, a convoy exist the Green Zone, staying sharp and watching their six. Multiple Humvees and carrier trucks zip along until they are stopped by stalled vehicles. As an unnamed Staff Sergeant 81 (Ritchson) and his younger brother (Courtney) talk shop, they consider trying out for the Army Rangers, together.

Unfortunately, war chaos hits, bringing along usual tragedy. Two years later, The Sergeant is on a bus heading to Ranger training in Colorado. This will be a grueling series of events, and he is not as young as most of the other candidates. Our Sergeant is not interested in leadership, just reaching the finish line.

As the training comes to a close, a strange asteroid event leads to a new kind of battleground for the squad, who is on their last leg of training, and on a ‘final’ training mission. The numbered soldiers have to work together and do their best to survive new threats, and unknown enemies.

This film takes a while to get to its interesting twist, and is mostly a war training film until that point. The acting is fine, but also does not elevate the film beyond most military adventures, however the main role is done quite well by Ritchson. The directing is fine and special effects are good enough, and there is some fun to be had in the film’s runtime.

War Machine isn’t bad, but it doesn’t do that much with its exciting idea either. Without an anchor like Ritchson, it likely would have fared worse. That being said, it is a decent popcorn movie where you can just kick back and watch the explosive events play out without putting too much thought into anything. I would have liked a smarter script, but what is there is enough for an okay time as long as you don’t expect too much.