[Movie] War Machine: A Movie Review

Alan Ritchson, dealing with trauma after the loss of his brother, was bent on reaching the finish line—not because joining the Rangers was his dream, but as a way of fulfilling his brother's desire after his death. Soon he joined the elite unit of U.S. Army Rangers undergoing final selection exercises in a remote wilderness. What began as a standard tactical simulation turned disastrous when an alien machine crashed down in the woods and started hunting down the recruits.

Ritchson played the team leader, selected after they noticed how he battled with his trauma and yet struggled to maintain his training with high persistence to reach the finish line. "Every machine has its limit"—a word from his superior to him in an attempt to let him know his strength wasn't enough to keep him until the end—became the exact words that made him press on when encountering the metallic behemoth before him. Cut off from headquarters after the hunt, the recruits were left to use every ingenuity and tactical skill to survive the night.

Ritchson shined in his role, especially in one that required physical dominance paired with quiet intensity. He made the military banter and emotional beats feel earned amid the chaos. The movie is entirely special effects; the visual design of the alien machine is imposing and genuinely menacing. However, the narrative seems to be heavily borrowed from the movies Predator and Aliens, and for character development, it was poorly done, with the large number of recruits padding the body count aside from Ritchson, whose character was known.

I think it's worth watching; the director knows what the audience wants. Check it out, and I dare you not to use the commander's line "every machine has its limit" as a tool when faced with a machine.

Rating: 4/100

Originally posted through scrobble.life/movies.