War Machine throws a mix of U.S. Army Ranger candidates into a struggle for survival when an alien machine crashes down and begins vaporizing all in its path. The Netflix movie is a war thriller that boils down to over an hour of soldiers running away and screaming crudities as they suffer graphic deaths and injuries.
In the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program, soldiers seeking to become U.S. Army Rangers are simply referred to by their candidate numbers.
And if there were one candidate to watch, it’s 81.
He’s an older contender—on the cusp of being too old for the program. He’s also already a decorated war vet. In fact, two years ago, he was the only survivor of a brutal Taliban ambush—one that killed his own brother before his eyes.
But 81 made a promise to his brother that they’d both try to become Rangers, and so he’s been focused on nothing but fulfilling that goal ever since, trying to make his brother proud.
The physical challenge of RASP isn’t an issue for 81: He performs at the very top of his class. The real challenge is mental. 81 never went to therapy after his deployment. He doesn’t bond with the other Ranger candidates. He pushes himself to dangerous, extreme limits. Command is worried that 81, should he pass, may just destroy himself (or potentially bring down others in his unit).
Still, they decide to send 81 through to the final test: Death March, a 24-hour simulated mission. He’s to lead the rest of the candidates in locating and destroying a crashed aircraft. Then, they’ll rescue the pilot and return to base without getting ambushed by the “enemy.” Should the candidates accomplish those goals, then they’ll officially become Rangers.
It isn’t long before 81 and the others find the downed aircraft. It’s weird, since they’re a couple hundred meters away from where they were meant to find it, but their compasses have been malfunctioning all day. Their comms have been down, too. And as for the ship, it looks highly futuristic.
Still, a mission’s a mission, so the demo team detonates the C-4 to blow the prop to smithereens.
Only, it doesn’t make a dent. Instead, the “prop” starts up. It raises itself into a bipedal stance and scans all the soldiers staring at it in awe.
And then it begins to vaporize them.
81, who has been riddled with guilt and self-doubt since his brother’s death, slowly regains his confidence to lead others as the film’s events progress. Another candidate, 7, assists 81 in coming to terms with his brother’s death, offering comfort and words of encouragement that act a bit like therapy.
Though the situation is dire, the squad recognizes the danger the rest of the world is in and works hard to warn others. People sacrifice their lives for others.
Someone hopes something will occur “by the grace of God.” A man crosses himself. A soldier calls out to Jesus as Lord and Savior before getting eviscerated by the robot.
It’s revealed that the robot is of extra-terrestrial design.
None.
If there’s one question I had while watching War Machine, it’s how much money went toward fake entrails?
The movie starts with a flashback of Taliban operatives ambushing American soldiers. They blow up many vehicles. Explosions send troops flying through the air—one soldier’s legs get reduced to red goop. 81, the only survivor, limps away after yanking a piece of metal shrapnel from his knee.
Two years later, when 81 and his fellow Ranger candidates encounter the alien robot, it annihilates plenty of people. Throughout the movie, the metal construct shoots laser beams that vaporize body parts, often leaving the rest of the victim’s body to bleed out or else fall apart. Limbs go missing, guts spill out, and decapitated heads fly. The soldiers find half-melted skeletons and bodies that have been cut in half.
Someone falls down a large hill, getting impaled by a tree branch. After he’s pulled off the branch, the man slowly succumbs to his wound. Another man nearly drowns. Someone snaps his broken fingers back into place. After suffering a compound fracture, a man writhes in pain as his compatriots set the bone back inside his leg.
We hear around 70 instances of the f-word, including five instances paired with “mother.” The s-word is used just shy of 40 times. We hear plenty of other language, too, such as “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” Someone displays his middle finger. God’s name is used in vain 10 times, including two instances paired with “d–n.” Jesus’ name is likewise used in vain once.
Soldiers attempt to administer morphine to someone before realizing they have none. 81 occasionally takes prescription pills, presumably for lingering pain in an old injury.
None.
Sometimes, you don’t care how strong the movie message is: You just want an action thriller. You just want a fun time.
Be careful what you ask for.
As I watched War Machine, I started to think that the real reason all the characters are referred to by their candidate numbers is because they lack any depth whatsoever. 81’s character arc felt like it was tacked on as some sort of afterthought before release—as though the film just wanted to get to the whole “make the PTSD-ridden veteran relive his trauma as he runs away from the alien death robot” part. The emotional payoff at the end is nearly nonexistent, but I suppose there was some vague messaging about never giving up.
The film is action heavy, filled with soldiers desperately sprinting for their lives as laser beams tear the limbs off their friends. That part of the movie is an hour-long game of cat and mouse—except the cat has a ray gun, and the mouse can scream the f-word dozens of times.
In other words, War Machine is a simple movie where soldiers run from one scene of pointless, gruesome gore to the next.
Hey, at least the alien mech looks cool.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
