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    War Machine

    • 20172017
    • TV-MATV-MA
    • 2h 2min
    IMDb RATING
    6.0/10
    43K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    4,432
    253
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Daniel Betts, Topher Grace, Anthony Hayes, Emory Cohen, John Magaro, Aymen Hamdouchi, and RJ Cyler in War Machine (2017)
    An absurdist war story for our times, writer-director David Michod (Animal Kingdom) recreates a U.S. General's roller-coaster rise and fall as part reality, part savage parody - raising the specter of just where the line between them lies today. His is an exploration of a born leader's ultra-confident march right into the dark heart of folly. At the story's core is Brad Pitt's sly take on a successful, charismatic four-star general who leapt in like a rock star to command NATO forces in Afghanistan, only to be taken down by a journalist's no-holds-barred expose.
    Trailer0:31
    3 Videos
    75 Photos
    ComedyDramaWar

    An idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.An idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.An idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.An idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.An idiosyncratic general confronts opposition from enemies, allies, and bureaucrats while leading a massive rebuilding operation in Afghanistan.

    • Director
      • David Michôd
    • Writers
      • Michael Hastings(book "The Operators")
      • David Michôd(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Brad Pitt
      • Daniel Betts
      • John Magaro
    Top credits
    • Director
      • David Michôd
    • Writers
      • Michael Hastings(book "The Operators")
      • David Michôd(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Brad Pitt
      • Daniel Betts
      • John Magaro
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 202User reviews
    • 89Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 3 nominations

    Videos3

    Streaming Today
    Trailer 0:31
    Streaming Today
    Trailer #2
    Trailer 2:20
    Trailer #2
    Teaser
    Trailer 0:46
    Teaser

    Photos75

    Brad Pitt in War Machine (2017)
    Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Daniel Betts, Topher Grace, Anthony Hayes, and John Magaro in War Machine (2017)
    Brad Pitt and Ben Kingsley in War Machine (2017)
    Brad Pitt, Anthony Michael Hall, Daniel Betts, Topher Grace, Anthony Hayes, Emory Cohen, John Magaro, Aymen Hamdouchi, and RJ Cyler in War Machine (2017)
    Roy Beck in War Machine (2017)
    Brad Pitt and Meg Tilly in War Machine (2017)
    Alan Ruck in War Machine (2017)
    Ben Kingsley in War Machine (2017)
    LaKeith Stanfield in War Machine (2017)
    Brad Pitt and Ben Kingsley in War Machine (2017)
    Scoot McNairy in War Machine (2017)
    Ben Kingsley in War Machine (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Brad Pitt
    Brad Pitt
    • Glen McMahonas Glen McMahon
    Daniel Betts
    Daniel Betts
    • Simon Ballas Simon Ball
    John Magaro
    John Magaro
    • Cory Staggartas Cory Staggart
    Emory Cohen
    Emory Cohen
    • Willy Dunneas Willy Dunne
    RJ Cyler
    RJ Cyler
    • Andy Moonas Andy Moon
    Topher Grace
    Topher Grace
    • Matt Littleas Matt Little
    Anthony Michael Hall
    Anthony Michael Hall
    • Greg Pulveras Greg Pulver
    Anthony Hayes
    Anthony Hayes
    • Pete Duckmanas Pete Duckman
    Nicholas Maude
    Nicholas Maude
    • British Officeras British Officer
    Paolo Gasparini
    • Plotti Balottias Plotti Balotti
    Andrew Byron
    Andrew Byron
    • Vladislav Melnikas Vladislav Melnik
    Alan Ruck
    Alan Ruck
    • Pat Mackinnonas Pat Mackinnon
    Nicholas Jones
    Nicholas Jones
    • Dick Waddleas Dick Waddle
    Griffin Dunne
    Griffin Dunne
    • Ray Canuccias Ray Canucci
    Aykut Hilmi
    Aykut Hilmi
    • Afghan Bureaucratas Afghan Bureaucrat
    Ben Kingsley
    Ben Kingsley
    • President Karzaias President Karzai
    Nasser Rostai
    • Presidential Aideas Presidential Aide
    Rufus Wright
    • Frank Groomas Frank Groom
    • Director
      • David Michôd
    • Writers
      • Michael Hastings(book "The Operators")
      • David Michôd(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

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    Storyline

    Edit
    A general from the U.S. is sent to Afghanistan to "clean" the situation up after eight years of war in the country. He finds himself among tired soldiers and disillusioned politicians eager to leave. In this situation, he feels his mission is to "win" the war, something deemed impossible by everyone around him. —anton-osgard
    afghanistansatirecounter insurgencyforeign affairssoldier6 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • From the producers of the Big Short comes a story about the politics of war.
    • Genres
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • War
    • Certificate
      • TV-MA
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The statue visited by General Glen McMahon (Brad Pitt) after his press conference is located at the Neue Wache (New Guardhouse) in Berlin, Germany. It is a enlarged version of Käthe Kollwitz "Pietà". Though the original was not sculpted for this purpose, it was placed as a memorial to all Victims of War and Dictatorship.
    • Goofs
      President Hamid Karzai's name is mispronounced by Ben Kingsley who is playing him. Should be Haamed not Hameed which is a different name even though both names are transcribed in the same way as Hamid from Pashto they are written differently in Arabic.
    • Quotes

      President Karzai: Your predecessor, General Whelan! I liked him! I'm not entirely certain he liked *me*; he didn't visit very often. Why was he dismissed? It seems- uhh, one minute he was here- uh, next minute, not here.

      Gen. Glen McMahon: Ah. Well, Mr. President, I think our government simply felt it was time our effort took a new direction.

      President Karzai: And uh, what is this new direction?

      Gen. Glen McMahon: Ah! It's most important to me that we *build* Afghanistan. Together, we build Afghanistan into a free and prosperous nation, free from fear and conflict.

      President Karzai: I see.

      Gen. Glen McMahon: Yeah.

      President Karzai: I see. Sounds a lot like the *old* direction.

    • Connections
      Featured in ACS France (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Confused
      Written by Jon Spencer (as J. Spencer), Judah Bauer (as J. Bauer), Russell Simins (as R. Simins)

      Performed by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion (as Jon Spencer Blues Explosion)

      Courtesy of Dirty Shirt Music

      Under license from Gaga Music

    User reviews202

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A very interesting anti-war movie.
    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.
    helpful•39
    27
    • cillianleddy-15839
    • May 26, 2017

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 26, 2017 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official Facebook
    • Languages
      • English
      • Pashtu
    • Also known as
      • The Operators
    • Filming locations
      • Pariser Platz, Mitte, Berlin, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Hurwitz Creative
      • Netflix
      • Plan B Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $60,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 2min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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