Nerdly » ‘War Machine’ Review (Netflix)

16th Apr2026

‘War Machine’ Review (Netflix)

by Matthew Turner

Stars: Alan Ritchson, Blake Richardson, Keiynan Lonsdale, Daniel Webber, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Stephan James, Dennis Quaid | Written by Patrick Hughes, James Beaufort | Directed by Patrick Hughes

Alan Ritchson – beefy star of TV’s Reacher – stars in this straight-to-Netflix sci-fi action thriller about a giant alien killing machine, from director Patrick Hughes, whose previous action credentials include the likes of The Expendables 3 and The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Action-wise, War Machine represents a significant step up for Hughes, though the script could have used another pass or two.

The film begins with a prologue, set two years earlier in Kandahar, where Ritchson’s US soldier (referred to only as “81”) earns himself some tragic backstory, after his brother (a single scene cameo from Jai Courtney) is mortally wounded in a devastating IED attack and Ritchson attempts to carry his body back to home base. In the present day, 81 – viewed by his fellow soldiers as a hero for his Kandahar actions – joins a highly trained unit of Rangers and is dispatched to a remote outpost, ostensibly to recover a downed plane.

However, when they reach their destination, 81 and his team – including “109” (Jack Patten), “7” (Stephan James), “57” (Daniel Webber) and lone female “44” (Alex King) – find a giant alien robot, which has apparently crash-landed on Earth after its ship was mistaken for an asteroid. Unfortunately for 81 and his team, the robot turns out to be an ultra-efficient killing machine, equipped with all sorts of devastating weaponry, so they quickly end up fleeing for their lives, with no apparent way to fight back.

Plot-wise, that’s basically it, but Hughes keeps everything moving at an exciting pace, once the action gets going. Moreover, he expertly stages a number of genuinely thrilling set-pieces, varying the action according to the location. To that end, we get: a tense escape down some rapids; a brutal car chase, complete with ever-present laser fire and missiles; and a fun climactic sequence involving the alien killing machine going up against a humble excavator.

Ritchson is a charismatic presence and his physicality lends convincing weight to the action scenes, not least because he’s clearly doing some of his own stunt work, most notably in the rapids sequence. However, the other characters are woefully underdeveloped – none of them have any semblance of personality beyond token attributes, so you don’t really care when some of them inevitably get killed off.

That lack of emotional impact is effectively the film’s biggest problem. Neither the fate of the other soldiers nor 81’s supposedly emotional backstory and redemption really hit home. In addition, the film is almost embarrassingly gung-ho and flag-wavy in places, like it’s intended as a recruitment video for the armed forces, which isn’t an especially good look right now.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the film is its final coda, which definitely doesn’t play out quite the way you’re expecting and yet seems rather appropriate, regardless of whether or not we get a sequel.

In short, this is a solid sci-fi action thriller that’s a cut above Netflix’s usual standard for this sort of thing. It also marks out Hughes as an action director to watch – here’s hoping he’s let loose on some big-budget actioner in the near future.