Why was it so easy for me to predict his age? War Machine is basically a combination of just about every one of the action and sci-fi movies I loved as a kid. It is honestly like a bunch of 50 year olds were sitting around drinking and saying, "Man wouldn't it be cool if we could make a movie that combined the Predator and the Terminator?" And then that really got the ball rolling with someone adding in , "But let's also make it like Clint Eastwood's Heartbreak Ridge!" Another adds, "How about a little nit of An Officer and a Gentleman for the ladies?". Finally someone screams, "And add in Southern Comfort!"
Boom! There you go! The perfect recipe for a sci-fi action movie.
Somehow I got my wife to watch this movie with me. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that hunky and all around nice guy Alan Ritchson was the star, but that's cool with me. I was just happy she watched it. She did not know one very important detail of the movie. She thought it was just going to be a war movie. Clearly she had not seen a single preview that reveals that this is a sci-fi movie. As soon as the first hint of an alien appeared she made me pause and asked "What is the. movie about? is it about..." I just nodded my head and smiled, "Oh yeah, its aliens!" She laughed and continued to watch.
And it was a good thing she did otherwise she would have missed the sheer joy of unadulterated ridiculous action sequence after action sequence.
I already give the writer, Hughes, credit for mashing together a ton of great 80s movies, but he actually did write enough of a story to make you care about some of the characters. Even though I would have been five with five minutes of exposition and a few flashbacks, Hughes takes his time to set up the movie. For the first half hour, it seems like it could be a really cool advertisement for the Army Rangers. But then... it gets batshit crazy! And we loved every second of it!
After those first 30 minutes of establishing the characters, the movie becomes 60 minutes of action scenes with a few breaks in between so the CGI artists didn't get carpel-tunnel syndrome. So much stuff (and people) blows up real good. It is insane!
If you like even one of the movies on the list of mashups, you will love this movie. It knows what it is and never pretends to be anything than mindless entertainment.
Wait. there is actually a message in there. Mechanics are the greatest heroes in the world! Not only is this movie a non-stop action roller coaster, it is also a love letter to every mechanic out there. Thank you for being so smart! We could never defeat alien killing machines without you! (And I couldn't change my oil).
If you like action movies and think your brain needs a 90 minute break, go watch War Machine on Netflix!