TRASH IN MY EYE No. 6 of 2026 (No. 2054) by Leroy Douresseaux
War Machine (2026)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
Rating: MPAA – R for strong violence, grisly images, and language
DIRECTOR: Patrick Hughes
WRITERS: Patrick Hughes and James Beaufort; from a story by Patrick Hughes
PRODUCERS: Patrick Hughes, Rich Cook, Todd Lieberman, Greg McLean, and Alexander Young
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Aaron Morton (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Andy Canny
COMPOSER: Dmitri Golovko
SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER
Starring: Alan Ritchson, Stephan James, Blake Richardson, Jai Courtney, Alex King, Keiynan Lonsdale, Jack Patten, James Beaufort, Joshua Diaz, Esai Morales, and Dennis Quaid
SUMMARY OF THE REVIEW:
War Machine is a pulp sci-fi all gussied up as an intense military thriller slash melodrama, and it works quite well
War Machine is an awesome action movie spectacle and virtually every minute of it is entertaining in some way
Alan Ritchson makes the most of this film, which is really an Alan Ritchson vehicle, and Ritchson gives it his all, meaning he would be lucky to have other vehicles as absolutely entertaining as War Machine is
War Machine is a 2026 science fiction film and action thriller from director Patrick Hughes. A co-production of the United States and Australia, the film was released in Australia before it began streaming on Netflix on March 6, 2026. War Machine follows an unnamed Army staff sergeant who becomes an Army Rangers recruit just in time to battle a mysterious and deadly machine.
War Machine opens in Kandahar, Afghanistan sometime during the prolonged conflict known as the “War in Afghanistan” (2001-21). An unnamed Staff Sergeant (Alan Ritchson) has just arrived t help his brother's broken down convoy. Then, tragedy strikes, leaving the unnamed Staff Sergeant wounded and broken. He is awarded the Silver Star for his actions, but leaves Afghanistan broken and feeling that he failed.
Two years later, the Sergeant attends the "Ranger Assessment and Selection Program" (RASP) in the hopes of becoming a U.S. Army Ranger with the 75th Ranger Regiment. He is given the candidate number “81,” but refuses the request of two officers, Sergeant Major Sheridan (Dennis Quaid) and First Sergeant Torres (Esai Morales), that he take on the role of team leader with the new recruits. Eventually, the final RASP exercise requires 81 and the remaining recruits to enter a nearby forest for a simulated mission.
During the mission, 81 and his team find a mysterious object that they mistake for their target. After they try to destroy the object, it transforms into a giant walking machine, and the killing and destruction begin. Now, 81 will have to be what he no longer wants to be, and that is both a leader and a savior of his his servicemen and servicewomen.
War Machine is one of those pure, old-fashioned science fiction film that is not afraid to be a rollicking, good-time alien-invasion movie. War Machine give me (and also you, dear readers) what I want; it pits a brave human hero battling his inner demons while simultaneously battling an alien baddie for his life. War Machine is Predator (1987) meets Transformers (2007), except that the Transformers here are homicidal, relentless killing machines. The result is a movie that is an absolutely thrilling and entertaining film, which I enjoyed from start to finish.
War Machine's director, Patrick Hughes, has experience delivering muscular action movies, as seen in his work directing The Expendables 3 (2014). Hughes shines up this pulpy sci-fi scenario and delivers an action film that seems as if it could have a timeless appeal (which I can also say about the preposterous Adam Driver sci-fi monster movie, 2023's 65).
I heartily recommend War Machine because I really enjoyed it. Alan Ritchson shows that he certainly has the acting chops to carry a movie as the lead. Ritchson just does his thang because he is both an actor and an entertainer. He shows that in War Machine.
7 of 10
B+
★★★½ out of 4 stars
Sunday, March 22, 2026
The text is copyright © 2026 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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