2017 Films: #4. War Machine

Streamed on Netflix on June 6th. The film, written and directed by David Michôd, is based on the book The Operators by Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings. The film is a fictional account of the challenges facing General Stanley McCrystal when he took command of Allied forces in Afghanistan in 2009.

Brad Pitt plays the role of General Glen McMahon, who comes into Afghanistan with the deck stacked against him and we follow him as he tries to make changes in an unpopular war in order to turn the tide. McMahon brings with him his entourage if you will. This group consists of General Greg Pulver (played Anthony Michael Hall and loosely based on Michael Flynn), Navy Seal Pete Duckman (Anthony Hayes), Col. Staggart (John Magaro), SGT Dunne (Emory Cohen), UASF SGT Moon (RJ Cyler), Rear Admiral Ball (Daniel Betts), civilian media adviser Matt Little (Topher Grace) and rounding out the group is CPT Badi Basim (Aymen Hamdouchi), McMahon's Afghan military aide.

McMahon knows the deck is stacked against him and he goes about it anyway. He finds disillusioned and tired soldiers out in the field. He pisses off the politicians by asking for more troops. He's been tasked with bringing the war to a conclusion and he's going to do it. Along the way things go a little off the rails and his team ends up talking sh*t about President Obama which lead to his dismissal.

The film doesn't paint a very good picture of things in the Afghan theater. At first I wondered if it was a satire or black comedy as there are some jokes in there aimed at liberals and conservatives. I was also curious as t why Pitt played McMahon like he had a literal stick in his butt. The acting was decent and the story was good but the film just didn't click with me. Was I supposed to feel bad for McMahon? He's given his life to the Army and is now faced with a daunting, probably impossible task. He's married but a little estranged from his wife Jeannie (played nicely by Meg Tilly straight from the "where are the now" island). But I didn't feel bad for McMahon. There was no emotional attachment to him and his team. I felt for the ground troops that he visited and spoke with but nnot him. I felt for his wife. To me, Pitt either didn't try hard enough to nail the part or tried too hard. It's not a bad film but it's not that great.