War Machine (2017)

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), David Michôd (screenplay)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Daniel Betts, John Magaro

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Glen McMahon
Daniel Betts	...	Simon Ball
John Magaro	...	Cory Staggart
Emory Cohen	...	Willy Dunne
RJ Cyler	...	Andy Moon
Topher Grace	...	Matt Little
Anthony Michael Hall	...	Greg Pulver
Anthony Hayes	...	Pete Duckman
Nicholas Maude	...	British Officer
Paolo Gasparini	...	Plotti Balotti
Andrew Byron	...	Vladislav Melnik
Alan Ruck	...	Pat Mackinnon
Nicholas Jones	...	Dick Waddle
Griffin Dunne	...	Ray Canucci
Aykut Hilmi	...	Afghan Bureaucrat

Storyline

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 amongst 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.

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Plot Keywords:

afghanistan | satire | counter insurgency | foreign affairs | soldier | 

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Taglines:

We're gonna liberate the shit out of you.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Pushto

Release Date:

26 May 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Operators

Filming Locations:

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hurwitz Creative, Netflix, Plan B Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Brad Pitt and Topher Grace appeared in Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Ocean's Twelve (2004).

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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.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sean Cullen: [voiceover] Ah, America. You beacon of composure and proportionate response, you bringer of calm and goodness to the world... What do you do when the war you're fighting just can't possibly be won in any meaningful sense? Well, obviously, you sack the guy not winning it and you bring in some other guy. In 2009, that war was Afghanistan, and that other guy... was Glen.

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Connections

Referenced in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Glenn Close/Topher Grace/Low Cut Connie (2018)

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Soundtracks

In Liebe Dein
Written by Hans-Joachim Roedelius
Performed by Hans-Joachim Roedelius (as Roedelius)
Courtesy of Sky Records
By arrangement with Bureau B

User Reviews

A messy war satire

I really appreciate the story War Machine tells, which sheds light on the hypocrisy and surrealism around the role of the US in the Afghani war. But the attempt of making a humorous sidelong glance on war, just didn't really work out. At the same time, the movie gradually moves into a more emotional territory, which honestly makes it more confusing than appealing in contrast to the satire-elements.

War Machine is a movie I almost like. There are some really good scenes, the premise of the movie itself is good in theory, but the result just isn't that appealing. The mixture of drama and satire just makes the movie insignificant and messy.

The trailers indicated that this would be a good dark comedy. But it's hard to call it that. It certainly gets dark at times, and it's genuinely funny at other times, but it never hits both at the same time.

Brad Pitts performance is very good, I would say one of the better in his career. I did find his character a bit exaggerated and caricatured though, but him and the cast around him is generally quite good.