| War Machine | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | David Michôd |
| Written by | David Michôd |
| Based on | The Operators byMichael Hastings |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Dariusz Wolski |
| Edited by | Peter Sciberras |
| Music by | |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 122 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $60 million[1] |
War Machine is a 2017 Americansatiricalwarcomedy film written and directed byDavid Michôd and starringBrad Pitt,Anthony Michael Hall,Anthony Hayes,Topher Grace,Will Poulter,Tilda Swinton, andBen Kingsley. Based on the nonfiction bookThe Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan byMichael Hastings, it is a fictionalized version of the events in the book based onUnited States Army GeneralStanley McChrystal.[2]
The film was released onNetflix on May 26, 2017.
In the summer of 2009,four-star General Glen McMahon, having won renown for his effective leadership inIraq, is sent toAfghanistan to prepare a strategic assessment so that the government can end the ongoingwar.[3][4] He is given wide latitude to write it, on the sole condition that he not request more troops.
McMahon and his staff, particularly his right hand man Major General Greg Pulver, are united in their belief that the war can be won, and decide to recommend thatPresident Obama authorize a surge of 40,000 additional troops to secureHelmand province in order to stabilize the country. However, theSecretary of State informs McMahon that, because he requested more troops, and such a surge is incompatible with upcoming elections, McMahon's report will not be reviewed until after Afghanistan'spresidential election.
Captain Badi Basim, a member of theAfghan National Army, joins McMahon's staff as a "representative" of the Afghan people. He arrives in civilian clothes as he does not wish to wear his uniform, which he has in a bag, because of the risk of being killed. Meanwhile, McMahon is informed that due to massive voter fraud in the recent election, a runoff election will have to be held, further delaying the review of the assessment. Fed up, McMahon secretly leaks the assessment toThe Washington Post and organizes an interview with60 Minutes, during which he reveals that, in the last 70 days he has only been granted one meeting with President Obama.
In response, Obama announces that he will send 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, but that all U.S. and coalition forces in the country will leave in 18 months, infuriating McMahon and his staff for telegraphing America's Afghan strategy to the Taliban in Afghanistan. To gather the remaining 10,000 troops needed for his strategy to work, McMahon and his men head toParis to negotiate with the other coalition nations.
In Paris, McMahon learns that the President is in Denmark and wishes to meet with him. The ambassador to Afghanistan warns McMahon that he needs to understand President Obama's position: if McMahon continues to anger the President, he will be fired for insubordination. The President, however, merely shakes McMahon's hand as he climbs aboardAir Force One, supposedly due to time constraints. McMahon and his staff attend a dinner in McMahon's honor, accompanied byRolling Stone writer Sean Cullen, who intends to write a feature story about his performance for an upcoming issue. The next day, during their wedding anniversary dinner, McMahon's wife Jeanie confronts him about how much time he's been spending fighting abroad instead of being with his family back home.
While en route toBerlin with McMahon's staff to continue negotiations, Cullen observes their behavior when "out of country" and concludes that they are arrogant, seem to care little about the growing public perception that the war is costly and unwinnable, and hold civilian leadership in contempt. At a conference to discuss his strategy, McMahon is confronted by a German official who criticizes the war and McMahon's strategy. Nevertheless, both the Germans and the French agree to furnish the troops needed for McMahon's planned offensive, codenamed "Operation Moshtarak", to proceed, with Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai's approval.
The operation launches, but soon runs into trouble when several civilians are accidentally killed. When McMahon holds a public meeting with locals to apologize for the incident and explain that the U.S. is fighting the war for the benefit of Afghans, the crowd grows hostile and a local community leader asks McMahon and his troops politely yet firmly to leave.
McMahon later learns that Cullen's article has been published, and realizes it paints a negative picture of him and his staff as openly speaking against the President and mishandling the war effort. The President calls McMahon to Washington. Knowing that he will be fired for his actions, McMahon returns to Washington and later takes a job as a civilian consultant.
In the aftermath, Cullen ponders the consequences of his article, noting that he wished McMahon's fall would finally convince the government to stop invading foreign countries and end the war in Afghanistan. Instead the government simply assigns a new general to replace McMahon.
McMahon's Entourage
U.S. Diplomats
Politicians
Combat Marines
Other cast members
On April 27, 2012, it was announced thatNew Regency andPlan B Entertainment had acquired the film adaptation rights to the 2011 best sellernon-fiction bookThe Operators byMichael Hastings.[19] On April 14, 2014,David Michôd was hired to write and direct the film based on thewar in Afghanistan.[6]Brad Pitt was attached to star as GeneralStanley McChrystal and produce the film along with his Plan B partnersDede Gardner andJeremy Kleiner, while the film would be financed by New Regency andRatPac Entertainment.[6]
On June 8, 2015,Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the film which was re-titledWar Machine, whileIan Bryce also came on board to produce the film along with others.[20] On June 17,The Hollywood Reporter revealed that there had been a budget issue between New Regency and RatPac with producers of Plan B, and thus Netflix had stepped in to buy the distribution rights for $60 million.[1]
On August 4, 2015,Emory Cohen was cast in the film to play a member of Gen. McChrystal's staff.[9] On August 10, 2015,Topher Grace joined the film to play Gen. Stanley McChrystal's civilian press adviser.[11] On August 11, 2015,John Magaro signed on to play Cory Burger, a special ops soldier and close advisor to General McMahon.[13] On August 14, 2015,Scoot McNairy joined the cast of the film.[14] On August 19, 2015,Anthony Michael Hall was added to the cast to play General Hank Pulver, loosely based on GeneralMike Flynn.[12] On August 20, 2015,LaKeith Stanfield signed on to the film.[17] The same day,Will Poulter also joined the cast for an unspecified role.[16] On August 25,Anthony Hayes joined the film.[8] On October 23, 2015,TheWrap revealed thatRJ Cyler had also joined the film.[10]
Principal photography on the film began in mid-October 2015 inLondon.[21][22] Later on October 19, filming began inAbu Dhabi; the city was transformed intoKabul, streets into a military fortress, an old building as anAmerican Embassy in Kabul, and a street as a Palestinian border crossing.[23][24] Filming also took place at theAbu Dhabi International Airport in November.[24] In mid-November 2015, while final scenes were being shot, actors were spotted filming inRas al-Khaimah and the city's old neighborhood was transformed intoPakistani villages and a military base-camp.[25] The film’s final scene filmed in Sydney Airport’s International Terminal arrival hall, is a cameo appearance by Russel Crowe, a Sydney resident, along with other Australian Dan Wyllie. The scene displays pitch black windows as it was filmed during the airports 11pm to 6am shutdown and curfew.
The film was released onNetflix on May 26, 2017.[26]
Brad Pitt visitedMumbai to promote the film and attended a special screening atPVRHigh Street Phoenix on May 24, 2017.[27] He also met Bollywood starShah Rukh Khan to promoteWar Machine.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 48% based on 95 reviews, and an average rating of 5.64/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "War Machine's uneven execution keeps its fact-based story from cleanly hitting its targets, but those flaws are frequently offset by sharp wit and solid acting."[28] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 56 out of 100 score, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[29]
Richard Roeper of theChicago Sun-Times gave it 3.5 out of 4 star rating, and wrote: "I wouldn't be surprised if some observers say Pitt made huge miscalculations in his acting choices with the result being the worst performance of his career - but I found it to be a brazenly effective piece of work, well-suited to the material."[30] Jonathan Pile ofEmpire Magazine gave it 2 out of 5 and called it "A confused comedy that wastes the promise of its premise. And Brad Pitt's performance, sadly, belongs in a different film entirely."[31]
