War Machine

Directed by Patrick Hughes, War Machine details the chaos that unfolds after a squadron of soldiers, led by Alan Ritchson’s grizzled 81, are attacked by otherworldly beings during a routine training exercise. It’s almost inherently engrossing subject matter that’s employed to watchable (albeit entirely forgettable) effect by Hughes, as the filmmaker, armed with his and James Beaufort’s screenplay, delivers a briskly-paced actioner that benefits from a smattering of exciting sequences and Ritchson’s engaging, sympathetic turn – with, in terms of the latter, the actor offering up a tremendously appealing performance that generally elevates the proceedings and compensates for a lack of compelling periphery figures. (Stephan James’s affable work as a fellow soldier is an exception to this feeling, certainly.) There’s little doubt, then, that War Machine‘s inability to become more than just a passable endeavor stems from Hughes’ somewhat generic approach to the material, and it doesn’t help, either, that the picture’s villains rarely (if ever) become as interesting or intriguing as one might’ve hoped. By the time the rousing, satisfying third act rolls around, however, War Machine has cemented its place as a decent-enough time-killer that fares better than most similarly-themed straight-to-streaming releases.

**1/2 out of ****