War Machine
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
Take everything you love about 80's action flicks, douse it in everything you loved about the original "Predator", throw in a hint of "Aliens" military action and you get WAR MACHINE, one of the purest thrill rides I've enjoyed in ages.
This thing is a beast that I never saw coming.
Alan Ritchson (Reacher, The History of Ungentlemanly Warfare) is a giant of a soldier. As the film opens, we meet him in the middle of Afghanistan military ops, where he and his brother (Jai Courtney) face an ambush in the desert.
Flash forward years later to Ritchson arriving at US Army Ranger training in the middle of Colorado. New Zealand spectacularly subs for Colorado throughout, the scenery is jaw dropping.
Dubbed "81" upon his arrival, he will stop at nothing to make the squad and be accepted into the rangers. The first half hour or so of the film is a character study of a broken man who only wants to pass the finish line of training. 81 has no interest in making friends or comraderie, which his First Sergeant Torres (Esai Morales from "Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning") and Senior Officer Sheridan (Dennis Quaid) note, but as a kick-ass soldier, 81 has no peer.
It's almost like a modern day "Office and a Gentleman" or "Full Metal Jacket" as 81 battles himself and his haunted past as his greatest physical limitation.
As the final Ranger test, 81 and his squad are dispatched to survive a 24 hour final mission. They succeed, they're in.
But the film moves from an army movie to classic 80's sci-fi mode when a massive, alien war machine emerges from the ground in the middle of the mission. It's a deft blend of Cruise's "War of the Worlds" and Phil Tippett's police robots from "Robocop", updated with all the Dolby Atmos, 4K CGI available.
The film takes off at this point and never stops running, providing more action thrills and actual, palpable suspense than I've felt in a good while.
I'm shocked how much I enjoyed this one.
So often lately, a good set up leads to a disappointing third act. Not here. It's slam bang action with really enjoyable and creative special effects in every scene.
Ritchson is everything you want him to be, as immovable as Arnold was in 1984's "Predator" and loaded with all the ammo and guts you want.
Maybe I enjoyed it so much as it's a throwback to the unabashedly macho Schwarzenegger/Stallone action flicks we all loved back in the day. There is no apologizing, no woke BS, no pandering. It takes me back to John Milius' screenplays for "Conan the Barbarian", "Red Dawn" or "Clear and Present Danger". And that is a refreshing thing indeed.
Aussie Writer/Director Patrick Hughes (The Hitman's Bodyguard) has one clear and present agenda here, and that's to entertain. Mission accomplished.
The special effects are first rate, taking great advantage of the scale and beauty of the landscapes and the hardware.
Acting kudos to Blake Richardson as "15", the whiny Bill Paxton/Private Hudson of the ensemble, the team member we love to hate and also to composer Dmitri Golovko, whose killer, full orchestra music score echoes Alan Silvestri's "Predator" score in all the right ways. It's pulse pounding, loud and as intimidating as that big ass alien attack vehicle.
The battle gore is graphic, the stakes are high and damned if our military vehicles can't take quite a beating.
The ending is pure fun and chest pounding in its patriotism and pro-military stance.
Who would have thought that would ever have to be described as refreshing?!
WAR MACHINE is exactly that, a surprising, pedal to the metal action flick machine with taut thrills and edge-of-your-seat suspense that earns an A.
If Mad Max was ever in the military, it would look a lot like this.
I'm all in on a sequel and based on the first four days of views, I'm betting one will soon be greenlit.
Rangers lead the way!!
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