War Machine (on Netflix) (1 Viewer)

[The Military Workshop]

War Machine is a fictionalised story of an American General in Afghanistan based on the firing of General Stanley McChrystal. Described as a satirical war movie.

Stars Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and Ben Kingsley (perfect casting for Afghan President Karzie). At first was wondering about Pitt doing a Netflix movie but movie was originally going to be distributed by New Regency and Ratpac. However due to budget issues Netflix bought rights for $60m.

Airs on Netflix 26 May.

 

[The Military Workshop]

Ok guys you can thank me as I have taken one for the team and watched this.

There is a reason Ratpac did not carry on with this and it went straight to Neflix. The original producers must have known they had a dud on their hands. It just did not "click" with me at all. Normally I should like this kind of movie but this one I found odd.

It basically follows the Stanley McChrystal story except the General's name is Glenn McSomething. He is undone by a Rolling Stone story also. It is based on a book called The Operators.

Brad Pitt spends the whole movie with a weird facial expression and there are multiple scenes of his jogging with a style that suggests there is an invisible horse between his legs. He hmmm's and grunts a lot.

Tilda Swinton only pops up to ask awkward questions at press conference and Ben Kingsley as President Karzie is not a great role either.

It is supposed to be satirical but I just found it lacking. There is only one minor action scene.

Normally I would have been keen to see this type of movie in the cinema but in this case I would have come away disappointed and my wife would have been questioning my movie selection ability.

Some with a military background might find it interesting but overall my reaction was disappointment.