Directed by Patrick Hughes
What happens when Predator is reinvented with an alien threat more massive and intimidating while the militants are left with dummy ammunition and little chance of fighting back? That’s what War Machine is all about.
The film opens with Staff Sergeant, played by Alan Ritchson, arriving at his brother’s broken-down convoy to help repair it. But things take a turn and Staff Sergeant is left alone with his dying brother on his shoulders as he edges towards the base but doesn’t make it. Despite losing his brother and grieving through his lingering trauma, he still chooses to make it to the Army Rangers (which was once a collective dream of him and his brother). Staff Sergeant is assigned number 81 as his name and is asked to leave all their past behind as everybody else. For Selection, Candidates have to go through an intense 8 weeks program and the last test being the Death March. What happens within the Death March forms the plot of the story.
I must say, Alan Ritchson is so good in action roles and slays in this one as well. Even though, his characterization is kinda trope-filled (traumatic past, loneliness). And I found the action performance of Alan to be really great and convincing. This is almost a One man Show from him, and the story somewhat forces the other characters to be dumb and get themselves killed. I want to congratulate the production design team for their efforts on building an intimidating extra-terrestrial alien. And even though, this movie starts slow it picks up pace quite fast once the ‘death march’ begins. Action set pieces are well choreographed specifically the ones with the sci-fi monster.
What I felt the film lacked, however, was the emotional connection between the characters. The movie gets engrossed in it’s action that it doesn’t have time to breathe let alone the emotions. And I believe it’s limited runtime keeps the movie in restraint, of building emotional connections. Apart from this and the thin screenplay of a predator chasing prey, there is nothing else I felt wrong of this movie. For me, it was a complete banger experience.
Overall, if you can overlook the thin screenplay and emotionally underdeveloped characters, War Machine is worth a watch. If you’re a fan of the original Predator (1987), this one might be right up your alley.