Mar 10, 2026
3 min read
A badly injured captain finds himself and his men facing off against a giant alien robot.On Netflix
War machines, is the war against aliens just about to begin?
Alan Ritchson stars as a wounded soldier ready to save his platoon from a giant robot of alien origin.On Netflix.
During the final selection for the US Army Rangers, a sergeant major identified only by the number 81 - because the candidate is called by number and not by last name - participated in an intense military training camp in an inaccessible area.Just returned from a mission in Afghanistan where he lost his brother in a bomb attack, the protagonist War Machine has an impressive body but has a deep trauma inside him, making it difficult for him to get along with his fellow soldiers and superiors.
Despite his abilities, 81 is denied a leadership role, at least until the final test, when he and his team - made up of selected elements who have passed the most difficult tests - will go alone from the base to the forest kilometers.However, the platoon ignores the danger they face: a giant, destructive war robot from extraterrestrials begins to hunt them down in that barren and isolated environment, killing them one by one.It will take 81 to guide people and understand the extent of the real alien invasion
A world at war
Leaving aside the discussion of the at least inopportune timing of the release of a film titled War Machine in a historical period where new winds of war risk reshaping global geopolitical balances, the film proves to be a failure on almost every front.We are in fact facing a conceptually dated work, based almost exclusively on the (over)powerful stage presence of the protagonist Alan Ritchson, an actor who, also because of his physicality, is now struggling to step off the tough guy role that made him famous in the TV version of Reacher.
After a short introduction where 81 - we should call him - loses his beloved brother, the film cuts to a training camp that looks like a cross between Private Jane (1997) and Tigerland (2000).Unlike the aforementioned titles, the focus here is on militarism at its most desperate, presenting the US military as the bearer of strong values that once again take center stage while the rest of the world faces the enemy.
An enemy that the text foresaw through news reports of an asteroid of unknown origin approaching Earth, soon to be revealed in all its devastating inaccuracies.The plot may be reminiscent of strong sci-fi films of the last decade, such as Killing Squad (2016), where a group of soldiers confronts a group of deadly robots in the middle of a forest.There is only one enemy here, but the potential for destruction is high.his: unlimited ammunition, laser scanners, bombs and missiles, ready to destroy the desperate sailors.
Without a short break
It seems that the Australian director Patrick Hughes, whose filmography includes such big-budget action films as The Expendables 3 (2014) or the diptych How to Kill Your Bodyguard, does not have the gift of lightness.In fact, a hundred minutes of viewing is without self-irony, it is dominated by an almost frenetic seriousness, which is also reflected in the characterization of the main and secondary characters.Unsurprisingly, Dennis Quaid is the one in the role of commander of the pieces, while the numerous group of supporting characters accompanying the mission of the stoic 81 is quite anonymous, so heroic and brave that you almost think that the real "war machine" of the title is not an alien robot, but himself.
The trauma that haunts him—the death of his brother, which he cannot come to terms with—is merely a narrative device used superficially, and because Ritchson lacks the extraordinary qualities to make the character's inner pain believable.Hughes seems to know this and therefore focuses everything on the constant action, which dominates most of the story in another game of cat and mouse.my jaw
Ilizwe: eUnited States
War Machine (2026)
In the final test to join the Marine Corps, a group of American soldiers suddenly encounter a giant robot of alien origin who rescues them in the heart of a wild and isolated nature.War Machine builds its story on the usual Stars and Stripes military dialogue, sometimes hard to justify, a classic sci-fi B-movie, albeit with a higher than average budget.Always ready to do the right thing to save yourself from a situation.The film recalls the atmosphere of Hunter in some ways, but without the same level of excitement and confidence that contributed to its eternal cult.All that's left are clever special effects and a script that takes itself too seriously, and with the door open it could happen globally, which could make things worse.
