This movie intends to satirize the American war in Afghanistan and I suppose it manages to land a few punches, but it’s so cartoonish the film gets bled of any real bite. Brad Pitt plays ‘Obama’s General’, 4-star Glen McMahon (a placeholder for Stanley McChrystal), the guy brought in to win a war his own country started, so of course when things to go to shit, he gets a disproportionate amount of the blame.
War Machine reminds us that war is won by men, but it’s the men in suits who run this 
war, not men in uniform. Politicians run things but don’t bother to check in with the men on the ground, who are operating on the basis of “counter-insurgency”, a losing proposition each and every time. The soldiers can’t distinguish between the enemy and the people they’re trying to protect. The war is a clusterfuck but so is this lazy attempt at satire.
It looks like it was filmed with a $400 budget and the same can-do American spirit that kept sending more troops to an unwinnable war (at two hours, it’s much too long to have said so little, and not long enough to have left any impression). The voice-over is straight out of a Lifetime movie (it’s meant to be the Rolling Stone journalist who got poor McMahon fired in the end – an unnecessary and cheesy device). And Brad Pitt is doing an awful voice like he’s trying to convince you it’s not really him. It feels like a gross miscalculation on Pitt’s part: the weird growl, the caricature-ish squint, it’s all a little too much to make the General feel flesh and blood.
The script isn’t smart enough and the film offers no insight. And even though it’s a mess, it makes 2009 look kind of quaint compared to 2017, which is the most depressing sin of all.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
Great review Jay. I figure the American military will be putting out more propaganda film soon – they need more men to die.
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Ah man, I’m disappointed that this turned out to be a bit mnah. I was looking forward to seeing Pitt in Aldo Raine mode again.
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Yes me too. I think he’s having fun with this role – just maybe a little too fun. Also, he’s going big, cartoonish, when everyone else around him are playing it straight. It’s a bad fit and not great work, which is too bad, because this could have been much better.
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Yeah, that’s unfortunate. Certainly looked like it could have been really very good, but I guess it was hard to gauge from the trailer that it was mostly played straight. I’ll likely give it a miss. Unless I’m stuck with 2 hours to burn. Which happens just about never. So, y’know…
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I think the movie makers need to have respect for the military for a movie like this to work. Even satire needs a dose of realism. Ah well.
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I do like David Michod and Brad Pitt but I have no plans on seeing it unless it manages to be on TV by any means.
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Oh no, not often Pitt lets me down, but when he does it’s hook, line and sinker.
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Such a strange film, wonder who this was made for.
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What is it with all these cheesey ‘dude-bro’ movies? Is testerone suffering from ‘wonderwomanitis’?
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Too bad this one doesn’t have a good plot as I am a fan usually of Pitt’s acting. Mind you his voice/facial expressions sound awkward for this film.
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I had no interest in watching this, I have even less interest now. lol
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Ouch. I plan on giving this a chance, but ouch.
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Brad Pitt tries to channel George C. Scott from Dr. Strangelove – not necessarily the right choice here – and totally embarrasses himself. In the process, Brad does manage to show what a great comic performer George C. Scott was and what a B-Grade ham he is. Brad is better looking and has made a lot more money than George C. Scott ever did, which shows that the world is not a fair place. Netflix produced amateurism. Sad.
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Yes, his performance felt really off.
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