War Machine (2017)

War Machine is a movie about the absurdity of the war of Afghanistan and the absurdity of American foreign policy in general. Therefore the tone of the film is absurdist to reflect this. Brad Pitt's portrayal of General McMahon is absurdly over the top and quite deliberately so in order to reflect the general's absurd actions and attitude, his interactions with the other characters including the politicians are baffling and confusing which again reflects the baffling and incoherent nature of America's policy towards Afghanistan and the Middle East. How do you wage bloody war and build a nation up at the same time? The two do not go hand in hand.

War Machine's exposes just how much of a wild goose chase the battle against the Taliban is, how do you defeat an enemy that are often nothing more than disgruntled locals who have had quite enough of American soldiers bombing civilians homes and killing their children, without committing genocide? The film makers have reflected this by showing the Gen. and his men embarking on a wild goose chase of Europe in a futile attempt to secure more troops to the cause and get some face to face communication with the President of the U.S. The theme is quite clearly wild goose chases galore.

Overall I feel War Machine is an interesting anti-war movie that is much more a dark comedy drama than a clear satire which is what it was wrongly billed as. It isn't the funniest movie in the world but it has its' laugh out loud moments. Ultimately the mixture of satirical comedy, thought provoking drama, and taut action scenes blend together to tell a story which at it's essence aims to provoke everyone who watches this movie to ask, what were/are the Americans doing in Afghanistan? 7 out of 10 and some good performances and score.

Fmovies: Just finished watching War Machine with Brad Pitt on Netflix. Wow, what a movie and an eye- opener. Really lets you put things into perspective and see the world through another person's eyes and ideas. Having watched it left me with an utmost respect for the protagonist Gen. Glen McMahon (portrayed after real life persona Gen. Stanley McChrystal). What a guy. Need to read his books now. Warning: Obama is portrayed quite controversially there, and not just implicitly. That trick with the meeting on Air Force One, wow what an asshole move, makes you question the integrity of the president you so long considered ideal. It is healthy to look at things through the eyes of people with views that may be different from yours. But it can be painful: if your point of view is unmovable, it can lead to frustration and disappointment. So a fair warning to those hardline viewers: it won't be an easy viewing if you can't consider other points of view or accept that what you believe may be different from reality.

I watch the movie the day it released. I should say its entertaining and partially funny. I saw lots of people here are very negative about the movie, well, that's a reality of the US/NATO operations in Afganistan!

I like this sentence from the movie: "We cannot help them and kill them at the same time."

War Machine fmovies. A wonderfully scripted film: engaging, entertaining deadpan, and not the least bit disrespectful, it exhibits the inherent contradictions in war and empire-building--wait, we don't call it that anymore...

Brad Pitt is a charismatic powerhouse in his role as the Glennimal.

It wasn't a movie I enjoyed very much, but it was a good movie. You can feel it in your guts. It's a description of the US operations in Afghanistan, and I had expected a liberal viewpoint that made fun of the mess there. But it wasn't so. It actually showed viewpoints from multiple perspectives.

Brad Pitt plays a general, newly appointed to the region in order to "fix things". And he is trying to. He fights bureaucracy, politicians, and insurgents alike in order to get things done. He has a faithful group of subordinates who worship him and help him do whatever he wants. Ironically, his technical approach makes him the enemy of the US administration, which only needs to show they are trying, without actually having to succeed. Ben Kingsley has a few scenes as president Karzai that are ridiculously funny, too. "But I am acting as a leader. I am unavailable", he says in one scene. Hilarious.

In the end, one cannot but sympathize with a guy who wants to end the war, militarily or course, by unequivocally winning it, regardless of what human issues are hindering the victory. He has a job to do, even if it's obvious no one wants him to do it. The movie shows how these kinds of "wars" were never meant to be won, even if you had someone actually trying to.

Bottom line: A movie is impressive when it manages to portray a US army general as a simple task oriented technician, hired like you would hire a plumber to do a job. It gets even more impressive when it shows how impossible that job really is. And the acting was great. The mood was a little too deadpan for me. It is something that amuses you internally while you wonder why everything is moving so slow. I believe this was deliberate, in order for the viewer to understand a little bit of how slow things are really moving in the real world.

War Machine - A satirical but honest look at the treadmill of war.

First off, Brad Pitt is essentially a caricature in this movie. I kept going back and forth on whether he was brilliant or miserable in his performance. I found myself feeling the same way I did when seeing him in Allied late last year. There are scenes when he is absolutely dialed in to the role and what's going on around him. And there are a handful of scenes where you'd think someone is just reading him his lines off-screen. He's been frustratingly inconsistent these last two outings.

I had no trouble deciphering the performance level of the surrounding cast, as they all came to play. From the big names of Ben Kingsley and Tilda Swinton, to still familiar names of Anthony Michael Hall and Topher Grace, I was impressed. My favorite performance would have to go to one of the smaller roles played by Lakeith Stanfield. I'd seen him earlier this year in Get Out, but he had a better opportunity to shine here as an absolutely emotionally broken marine.

The first half of the film is very quirky and actually has some pretty funny lines. The second half all but abandons the comedic tone and shifts into a full fledged war drama. The end result is satisfying, but that contrast is pretty jarring. It would have been more successful to mix the paint a bit more or just choose one color.

Netflix pulled out the big guns putting up $60 million for the distribution rights to the film. Later this year they are also backing a loose follow up to 2009's Moon (please see this underrated film if you haven't already) and breaking the bank with a $100 Martin Scorsese film with Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in 2018. Netflix is quickly changing the game in the world of cinema. Don't be surprised to see the awards shows tweak their rules to allow for streaming content down the road.

So pop some popcorn and reserve your couch to see this film of grandiosity and failure. Not exactly your typical recipe to Netlix and Chill, but I'm not one to judge.