At a time when the Predator franchise is reinventing itself in dynamic ways, it’s interesting to watch a film that is, at its core, a reworking of the original movie. War Machine, Netflix’s new sci-fi action film from co-writer and director Patrick Hughes, is a reminder of how potent Predator‘s original setup really was. Hollywood could probably do variations on it over and over again, forever, and we’d never tire of them. Do it right, and you can’t really go wrong.
War Machine does it right – mostly. Hughes and star Alan Ritchson (of Reacher fame) build up so much momentum in the first third, but as time passes and the movie shows its limits, some of that energy dissipates. It doesn’t quite have the courage to be the best version of itself. Still, it works. War Machine is an action movie you feel in your body, and it mixes in the right dose of sci-fi VFX without losing sight of the character that keeps you caring.
War Machine Delivers Solid Sci-fi Action, Even If It Starts Stronger Than It Ends
War Machine is guilty of one of the most noticeable trends of the streaming era – starting with a bang to ensure viewers don’t turn it off – but here, it’s an effective story choice. While deployed in Afghanistan as a combat engineer, Ritchson’s protagonist arrives to service what happens to be his brother’s vehicle. The latter, itching for glory, talks his reluctant older sibling into applying for the Ranger Assessment Selection Program (RASP) together, just like they dreamed as boys. But before they can even leave that spot, they’re attacked. A limping Ritchson carries his brother, alive but badly wounded, from the bombed-out wreckage into the desert.
We don’t see right away how that story ends, but when the movie cuts to two years later, Ritchson is heading into RASP alone. Candidates receive numbers in place of their names, and though the others banter and bond, our hero 81 is possessed by a solemn drive. This whole section of War Machine is probably my favorite. It’s smooth, propulsive, and despite what we’ve already been shown, very effective at building a sense of myth around 81. Every component, from Ritchson’s imposing screen presence to the rhythm of the edit to Esai Morales’ tone-setting commanding officer, is delivering exactly what’s needed from it. It’s doing nothing new, but everything right, and it hums.
By the time 81 reaches the final test, a simulated mission in the Rocky Mountains called Death March, we’re fully primed for War Machine‘s real premise. The whittled down team of candidates has to locate a downed plane, destroy it with explosives to keep it out of enemy hands, and “rescue” the captured pilot from a nearby village. When they find the aircraft, it looks much more high-tech than they expected. RASP clearly doesn’t skimp on production value. They strap on their C4 and detonate.
Except, this isn’t their intended target. This is a device not of this world, which crashed to Earth just a few hours before, and their explosives only make it angry. The machine activates, scans its attackers, and gets to work eliminating them. Suddenly, Death March becomes far more literal than the Rangers intended, and the candidates, armed only with blank rounds, have no real weapons to fight back with.
This first encounter scene is truly great stuff. Hughes builds on the strong setup by pacing this moment for maximum tension, and the VFX work is at its strongest here, but War Machine‘s greatest strength is the physicality of its action. Through some magic cocktail of performance, camera work, editing, and sound, physical exertion or injury is communicated to the viewer almost as sensation. The first time these soldiers flee the machine, which results in a great deal of exertion and injury, is gripping.
From there, however, the movie can’t maintain that same standard. It’s much better at wringing drama from the wounded troops fighting the mountain terrain than the killer robot. Not only are the VFX seams more exposed when the machine is in motion, nipping at the viewer’s immersion, but the way it’s deployed yearns for the creativity of the recent Predator films. The initial idea is a good one, but the script is unable to supply more than build on it in a satisfactory way.
The same is true dramatically. Ritchson is very effective when playing his character as he is at the beginning, but 81’s growth arc isn’t quite calibrated properly. By the end, when the movie leans into emotion, his performance can feel forced. But he’s not alone – War Machine‘s entire ending hits a false note, and would have been better off rolling credits a few moments earlier. It doesn’t derail the whole viewing experience, but it doesn’t live up to the promise of the first act.
The movie’s limitations are, to a certain extent, self-inflicted. A number of questions inevitably spring up from unexpectedly encountering a futuristic killing machine in the wilderness, and a good deal of dramatic tension could’ve stemmed from not knowing its origin. Hughes seems to know this – one of the candidates is especially drawn to conspiracy theories, and what is the purpose of such a character if not to ask big questions? But thanks to a newscast in the RASP mess hall, War Machine gives the game away early, to us as well as to its characters. The best version of this story is far more withholding, and for whatever reason, the filmmakers chose not to make it.
- Release Date
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March 6, 2026
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Patrick Hughes
- Writers
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Patrick Hughes, James Beaufort
- Producers
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Todd Lieberman, Alexander Young, Patrick Hughes, Greg McLean, Rich Cook