War Machine

2017
TV-MA
2h 2m

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

51K

YOUR RATING

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.

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Satire Comedy Drama War

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
- David Michôd
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.0/10

51K

YOUR RATING

Director
- David Michôd
Writers
- Michael Hastings
- David Michôd
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 nominations

Trivia
Despite being an anti-Afghanistan war movie, Pentagon reporter Helene Cooper spoke with The New York Times podcast "The Daily" that "everybody at the Pentagon is talking about (War Machine). It's a very anti-Afghanistan war movie, but the guys who you think would be offended by it, love it", Cooper added. "It's amazing to me. So many of them have lost colleagues, they've lost fellow soldiers and are constantly asking, 'What are we still doing there? What are we fighting for?' But at the same time, we have these officers who say, 'We've lost all these people in Afghanistan, we've spent so much blood and treasure on the ground in that country, and then you just turn around and pull out. What was that for?' It's a contradiction at the same time."

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 reviews220

Review

Featured review

A satire

This film tells the story of an ambitious army general, who is posted to Afghanistan to run the mission to fight insurgents. It becomes apparent very soon that various parties have not aligned their goals and missions.

"War Machine" tells a story of an enthusiastic man who is stuck in a web of bureaucracies. The story unfolds slowly, and at times it looks like a satirical look at a system that is supposed to serve and protect the public. The cameos are plentiful, making me pleasantly surprised. Though I find the film a little uneventful, I can see that it parallels what exactly is happening in the story to the characters.