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War Machine Movie Review

Name: War Machine Movie Review
Item: War Machine
Rating: 3
Author: Pradip Bhat

War Machine Movie Review English Movie Review

Written by

Review for the film " War Machine"

Streaming On: Netflix

Runtime: 02 Hour 02 Minutes

Certificate: U

Released: 26-05-2017

Genre: Comedy, Drama, War

Similar To: Wendy, Tupperware Unsealed, White Boy Rick, Write When You Get Work

Critic Review
User Review

3 / 5.0

3.63 / 5.0

CAST & CREW

Ben Kingsley

Brad Pitt

Emory Cohen

MORE CAST & CREW

Music Director:

Nick Cave

Warren Ellis

Director:

David Michôd

Director of Photography:

Dariusz Wolski

Screenplay Writer:

David Michôd

Supporting Actor:

Emory Cohen

Brad Pitt

Ben Kingsley

Anthony Hayes

John Magaro

Click Here For Full Cast & Crew

War Machine is a 2017 American war comedy film. It is written and directed by David Michod. The movie features Brad Pitt He’s one of the most accomplished actors of our ti >> Read More... , Anthony Hayes, Anthony Michael Hall Michael Anthony Hall was born in 14th April, 1968 >> Read More... , Topher Grace, Tilda Swinton Born in the UK to Judith Balfour and John Swinton, >> Read More... , Will Poulter William Jack Poulter, popularly known as Will Poul >> Read More... , and Ben Kingsley Ben Kingsley born in Snainton village of England a >> Read More... . Based on Michael Hasting’s book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of the American’s War in Afghanistan. War Machine is a story of the days of the war in Afghanistan following Barack Obama’s election, when the world was waiting for the fight to end but the people on the ground were still fighting.

Plot

The movie revolves around Glen McMahon, a war-hardened commander. He was effective during the Iraq war and has been assigned to oversee operations in Afghanistan, but his views on war handling are opposed to those of the Obama administration. This puts him on a collision course with the President as he releases confidential material and confronts him on television, all to obtain the 40,000 additional troops needed to win Helmand from insurgent forces.

Glen does not express the seriousness that the general believes it does, but he wants to win the war. He employs a strategy known as SNORP (a stand-in for real-life COIN), which tries to defeat the insurgency through nation-building. McMahon pushes his marines to follow him into war at any time. His determination creates cult-like respect for him among his followers. They trust him and his orders, despite the lack of efficiency. They surround him in a sycophantic cocoon, creating a vicious loop. His troop encourages his unrealistic vision, which leads them into a chaotic situation and their demise.

Star Performance

Brad Pitt gives an iconic Brad Pitt performance in Netflix’s war satire, directed by David Michod. Pitt portrays him as a loud, strong-willed individual with a hilariously oversized gait that matches his ego. His style of running in the movie is both comical and fascinating. Everyone is comparing it to Forest Gump, and it is one of the best parts of the movie. Apart from that, Tilda Swinton gives a terrific performance as a German legislator, as she keeps grilling McMahon now and then.

Analysis

This new Netflix film is either dreadful or fantastic, depending on how you look at it. For Americans who know nothing about the Afghan conflict and wish to learn more, this is a bad place to start. It is a hard satire of events at a particularly contentious moment in the country’s longest war. People who are familiar with the era know the difference where the movie is a humorous, tragic, or overdone movie. In my view, War Machine should have been a success. Director David Michod and Brad have proven track records as artists. However, despite Brad’s long-standing passion for the concept, they lacked the script and unity of vision to make it work.

War Machine fails as a film as it lacks an engine that propels the plot forward in any meaningful way. Overall, it appears that David Michod was unsure of what film he was trying to make.

What’s There?

• Strong and experienced cast.

• Stars gave an excellent performance.

What’s Not There?

• Uncinematic movie.

• The story is confusing.

Verdict

The challenge with making a film on an ongoing battle is that it lacks the dramatic suspense of an impending resolution. Overall, the director was confused about what film is he making. Was it an exaggerated satire based on the unsuccessful career of the American General? Politics of the Afghan conflict? Or a brutal movie about life in Afghanistan? The latter two topics seem to adjust in the movie but the former does not.