War Machine: Netflix’s big Sci-Fi action flick is fun but plays it too safe
I watched War Machine last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is chock full of explosions, impressively violent, and generally lots of fun. But if I hadn’t been writing this review, I would probably have already forgotten about it and moved on to the next thing.
War Machine has a familiar premise straight from 80s action films
The story is familiar. A group of elite soldiers are dropped into hostile territory and find themselves hunted by an advanced, seemingly unstoppable enemy. In this case, an alien war machine.
It is essentially Predator meets Terminator, with a little bit of Aliens. All of which is a good thing, as those films are awesome. War Machine isn’t as good as any of them, but if you enjoyed those films and want a night in watching mindless action, it is worth checking out.
If you are an 80s/90s action movie fan, you can easily guess the plot. A group of wisecracking elite soldiers are slowly whittled down in number in a series of action sequences, with lots of bullets and explosions. Textbook.
It starts really well
The tension and development of the first act are pretty solid and enjoyable. Then they meet the War Machine, and it is an awesome killing device. The plucky group are then pursued by this relentless kill-o-tron. It feels like it is building to a pretty awesome film.
But then, when you see more of the War Machine, I found myself getting less impressed. It is only a step up from one of those two-legged AT AT things in Star Wars. It wouldn’t be squashed by Ewok logs and can fire (pretty weak) grenade-like balls, so it is better, but not by a lot.
I still enjoyed myself, even as I realised the limitations of the thing. Unlike a Terminator, Predator, or Xenomorph, I am pretty confident that I could survive an encounter with a War Machine, especially in the terrain of the film, where there are lots of places to hide or take cover. To be fair, the characters are also on a mission to warn other people, whereas I would either run away as fast as I could or, more likely, just find a nice hole to wait it out.
The action is great, and the characters are ok
I might sound like I’m being a bit of a downer on War Machine, but I actually enjoyed it. It is helped that this is an action film, and the action is really well done. People really feel like flimsy meat bags when targeted and hit by one of the alien’s weapons.
Alan Ritchson is a big part of why this holds together. He has the physical presence to sell the role, and he carries himself like someone who belongs in this kind of film. There is a throwback quality to his performance, closer to the action stars of the 1980s and 90s than the quip-heavy leads of today. He is a modern-day Arnie, but is better at acting. (No offence to Schwarzenegger, I adored his films growing up.)
The supporting cast does what they can with the material. Dennis Quaid brings a bit of gravitas, while Jai Courtney delivers the kind of hardened soldier role he has played before.
None of the performances is bad. They are simply not given much to work with, and because everything is so damned exciting, you never get to know them all that well. Based on stereotypes and being a lifelong lover of films like this, I was able to guess with quite high accuracy the order in which each character was going to die soon after meeting them.
They die pretty awesomely, so I didn’t mind, but I wasn’t invested in anyone apart from Richson’s character. The film builds to a satisfactory explosion-laden finale, with a tiny bit of character work after. It was fine, fun, and generally satisfactory. I wasn’t disappointed, but I was far from the edge of my seat.
The film has done well for what it is, and I would watch a sequel or a TV show
Released last month (March 2026), War Machine feels like it was heavily promoted by Netflix. It had reported budget of around $80 million, a global rollout, and a cast led by Alan Ritchson, supported by Dennis Quaid and Jai Courtney. It quickly climbed to the top of Netflix’s charts and racked up over 100 million views in its first few weeks. I am assuming that counts as success.
It is exactly what you think it is. It looks expensive, has great set pieces, and is well-directed and paced. It never becomes confusing or particularly challenging. An alien War Machine chases soldiers, with explosions and deaths. It is designed to hold attention for just under two hours and then make way for the next recommendation.
That is not necessarily a criticism. There is definitely a place for straightforward action films like this, and I’m all for them. Not everything needs to be complex or groundbreaking.
The film is set up for a sequel, but could also work standalone. I personally think it could work pretty well as a TV series. Ideally, with bigger and better machines that develops into an episodic version of something like the Resistance Fall of Man games. I miss those games.
tldr – It’s fun but forgettable.
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