When War Machine started streaming on Netflix in March, many, myself included, were too exhausted with real-world conflicts to watch a war film. The movie earned 120 million views in five weeks and dominated Netflix globally. Word of mouth was consistently strong, so I was glad to finally watch this tense survival story that pits a crew of would-be Army Rangers against the titular war machine — a walking extraterrestrial armored vehicle.
Director Patrick Hughes (The Expendables 3) delivers a refreshingly lean war movie/sci-fi action thriller. The story centers on Soldier 81 (Alan Ritchson), a haunted Army Ranger candidate about to complete his training. During what’s supposed to be a controlled exercise, his unit encounters a massive, marching alien machine that’s crash-landed in the forest. The squad initially believes the craft is part of the simulation designed by their commanding officer Sheridan (Dennis Quaid). But when the machine begins attacking, they realize they’ve stumbled onto something terrifyingly real and otherworldly.
War Machine will put viewers in mind of War of the Worlds (the machine resembles H.G. Wells’ walking mechanical pods) and Predator (alien versus soldiers in the wild). The killer alien tank also reminds me of a biggie-sized version of the menacing ED-209 from RoboCop. War Machine isn’t the most original movie you’ll see in 2026, but it has the courage of its convictions: a scary machine and a ragtag squad of never-say-die warfighters are all you need for an entertaining action movie. Cinematographer Aaron Morton grounds the film in practical, on-location photography. Hughes and screenwriters James Beaufort and Patrick Hughes craft a bareknuckle narrative that avoids bloat. The alien machine is designed like a character — imposing, methodical, visually striking. There’s no politics here, no ideological messages. It’s proof that solid genre storytelling is alive and well.
War Machine becomes a high-stakes survival scenario where Soldier 81 must lead his team — 7 (Stephan James), 60 (Keiynan Lonsdale), and 15 (Blake Richardson) — against an enemy not mentioned in their field manuals. The film balances brutal action sequences with quieter character moments that reveal Ritchson’s protagonist carrying deep psychological scars.
The opening scenes show 81 with his brother in Afghanistan two years before the movie’s main events. They promise each other they’ll both apply for the Ranger Assessment Selection Program. Then a Taliban rocket attack kills everyone except 81. His presence in the Ranger program is driven by his promise to his late brother. He’s traumatized by a leg injury and by the survivor’s guilt he feels after the attack. He’s plagued by nightmares and hides pills in his pillowcase.
Ritchson’s portrayal of a traumatized soldier points to a crisis that will be familiar to The Contributor’s readers. In Tennessee, approximately 570 veterans were experiencing homelessness in 2024, and in Nashville, roughly 277 veterans (nine percent of the city’s 3,082 homeless individuals) remain trapped in cycles of instability, many chronically homeless. Between 48 and 67 percent of homeless veterans suffer from mental health disorders — nearly double the rate of their housed counterparts. PTSD, depression and anxiety can be major barriers to employment and housing. Veterans referred to VA PTSD clinics are roughly 1.5 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general veteran population. For many of these men and women, the battle never seems to end.
War Machine is one of the most successful films of the year. It manages an exciting genre mash-up while also touching on the real life costs of war both in the heat of battle and here at home. It also speaks to human resilience and ingenuity in our age of increasingly more complex and powerful machines.
War Machine is streaming on Netflix
Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.