--- title: "War Machine" year: 2026 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/war-machine" fi1m_id: "war-machine" imdb_id: "tt15940132" tmdb_id: 1265609 wikidata_id: "Q130375767" fi1m_score: 63 critics_score: 61 critics_reviews: 13 published: "2026-09-22T21:32:45.027008+00:00" updated: "2026-09-22T21:32:56.563962+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # War Machine (2026) Directed by Patrick Hughes · 1h 50m · MPA R · Action, Science Fiction, Thriller ## Identity War Machine - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/war-machine - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** war-machine - **IMDb ID:** tt15940132 - **TMDB ID:** 1265609 - **Wikidata ID:** Q130375767 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15940132/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1265609, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q130375767 **Fi1m score: 63** · Critics 61 from 13 reviews *In a sentence:* Everyone in it has a number instead of a name, and the robot is the one we could pick out of a line-up > Patrick Hughes puts Alan Ritchson through Ranger training and then sets a giant machine on him. The fights are staged with real skill; the men in them are numbers rather than people, so the hits land and the losses do not. ## Synopsis A veteran known only as 81 (Alan Ritchson) reports for an Army Ranger selection course, where every recruit is a number and nobody is meant to stand out. Alongside him are 7 (Stephan James) and 15 (Blake Richardson); running them into the ground is the Squad Leader (Jai Courtney). Dennis Quaid and Esai Morales appear as Sheridan and Torres, the only two characters with names rather than numbers. 81 says little, carries something from his past he does not discuss, and wants to make it through the course. Training takes the squad out into open country for a live exercise. There, something that is not part of the drill arrives: a giant machine, armoured and hostile, which begins hunting the recruits. Where it came from, nobody on the ground knows. ## Review Patrick Hughes has made [*Predator*](https://film.one/film/predator) with a Ranger selection course in place of the jungle and Alan Ritchson in place of most of the cast. A silent veteran, known to the film only as 81, reports for training, gets shouted at, and is out on exercise when a machine a good deal larger than he is comes looking for his squad. The tagline is “All grit. No quit.”, and that is a fair account of the ambition. *War Machine* is a decent, unpretentious action picture with one fine chase in it, a first half hour we could have done without, and a cast of men we could not tell apart, partly because the script never tries to help. The opening stretch is the problem. Jai Courtney’s Squad Leader runs the recruits into the ground, the recruits take it, and Hughes films the taking with the reverence of a recruiting advert. Nobody has a name. The men are 7 and 15 and 44 and 60, and Cappi Ireland puts them all in the same kit, so for a long while the only way to follow anyone is to follow Ritchson, who is not hard to find in a crowd. We were bored, and bored in the particular way of watching people be shouted at for reasons we were meant to find noble. Then the machine turns up, and we sat up with it. When it does, Hughes is on firmer ground, and so are his stunt team. He stages the action on real locations rather than inside a computer, and Aaron Morton shoots it so the ground under the actors looks like ground. Andy Canny cuts it so that geography holds: a man goes left, and when we next see him he is still on the left. There is a chase, about five minutes long, that is the best thing in the film and among the better set pieces of its kind we have seen lately. The gore is heavy, bodies come apart, and the 15 certificate is earned early. We winced more than once and were not sorry to. Ritchson carries it, and he carries it mostly by standing still. He has spent several years playing Reacher on television and knows how little a big man needs to do on screen: a pause before answering, a look held a beat longer than the line, and the film has a centre. Hughes and his co-writer give 81 a past that has hurt him and not much else, and Ritchson fills in the rest with his shoulders. Around him, Stephan James and Blake Richardson, as 7 and 15, are the recruits we could pick out by the end. Dennis Quaid and Esai Morales, as Sheridan and Torres, are the only two people in the film allowed a surname. Everybody else is a number, and everybody else is treated like one. The script, by Hughes and James Maclurcan, who also appears as 23, is where the film stops trying. The machine has no reason we can see for being there beyond killing, and the film’s interest in it ends at how it kills. Dmitri Golovko’s score hits its marks and leaves no tune behind. Enzo Iacono keeps the camp plain; the machine is where the design went. The politics are simple to the point of being a poster: the Rangers are good, training is good, pain is good for you. Several critics have found that hard to stomach. We found it easier, because the film is so plainly unembarrassed about it, but we would not pretend it is thinking. Hughes’s earlier films, *The Expendables 3* (2014) and *The Hitman’s Bodyguard* (2017), were noisy, cheerful and cut to ribbons. This is leaner and better shot than either, and it is his best staging of a fight by some distance. But John McTiernan’s *Predator* (1987) is the comparison the film invites, and McTiernan gave each of his soldiers a personality in about five minutes before the hunting started, so that we minded who was being hunted. Hughes gives his men numbers. When one of them is in trouble, we found ourselves checking which number it was. Watch it with company and something to drink, and give it the half hour, because the second and third acts pay the first one back. It runs 110 minutes and carries a 15, and both feel about right. It is not about anything, and it does not pretend to be, and there are worse ways to lose a Friday evening. *Fi1m score 63, published 22 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics land between mild approval and a shrug. They agree War Machine is a throwback to the muscular science-fiction action films of the 1980s, Predator above all, and that it knows exactly what it is. The praise clusters around the action: practical stunts, real locations and one or two set-pieces, including a chase several reviews single out. Alan Ritchson’s physical presence is credited almost everywhere, and a few find more in the performance than the script asks for. The reservations are about everything around the fighting. The story is called predictable and the characters thin almost across the board, and the villain is generic. The spread is wide. The New York Times is the one outright dismissal, finding the film exhausting and objecting to brutality passed off as character growth, and The Wrap shares the complaint about the pro-military stance while still enjoying the robot. Nobody argues it is clever; the argument is whether that matters. ## Straight answers **Is War Machine worth watching?** *War Machine* is worth watching for anyone who wants a plain, well-staged action picture and can sit through a dull first half hour; we scored it 63. Alan Ritchson carries it and one five-minute chase is the best thing in it, but the recruits are numbers rather than people, so the losses never hurt. Watch it with company. **How long is War Machine, and what is it rated?** *War Machine* runs 1h 50m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is an action and science fiction film. **Where can I watch War Machine in the US?** *War Machine* is streaming on Netflix in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is War Machine, and is it suitable for children?** *War Machine* carries a UK 15 and a US R, and the certificate is earned early: the gore is heavy and bodies come apart when the machine attacks. It is a hunt rather than a horror film, so the fear is of the loud, sudden kind. It is not for children; the squeamish should give it a wide berth. **How does War Machine compare to Predator?** *War Machine* is [*Predator*](https://film.one/film/predator) with a Ranger selection course in place of the jungle, and the earlier film is the better of the two. McTiernan gave each soldier a personality before the hunting began, so we minded who died; Hughes gives his men numbers, and we found ourselves checking which one was in trouble. Both stage the action with real skill, and Ritchson, like Schwarzenegger, convinces as a big man who can be hurt. **What should I watch after War Machine?** After *War Machine*, try [*Predator*](https://film.one/film/predator) (1987, Fi1m 84): The model, and still the lesson in giving soldiers faces before the hunting starts. Then [*Southern Comfort*](https://film.one/film/southern-comfort) (1981, Fi1m 81): National Guardsmen lost in the bayou, hunted by men rather than machines, and scarier for it; and [*Starship Troopers*](https://film.one/film/starship-troopers) (1997, Fi1m 79): The recruitment film that knows exactly what it is and smiles while it says so. ### Reviews we read (13) - **Empire**, James Dyer (75/100, inferred): The critic finds the film absurd on almost every level but unarguably entertaining as a big dumb fun '80s-style sci-fi action throwback. They single out the enthusiastic action sequences and Alan Ritchson's physical performance for praise. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/war-machine-2026/) - **RogerEbert.com**, Monica Castillo (70/100, inferred): The film starts like a stereotypical military movie but evolves into something much weirder and more entertaining with the introduction of a giant killer robot. The script is leaden and predictable outside its central twist, but the action and visuals deliver once it shifts gears. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/war-machine-alan-ritchson-netflix-film-review-2026) - **The AV Club**, Caroline Siede (B-): The critic values the film's earnest, old-school military sci-fi tone that mixes classic Americana with brutal R-rated violence and practical action. It succeeds by not aiming too high and delivering familiar tropes with heart. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/war-machine-review) - **Radio Times**, Jayne Nelson (3/5): This is an enjoyable sci-fi actioner starring Alan Ritchson as a taciturn soldier fighting alien robots during a Rangers training exercise. It starts as a jingoistic military celebration but becomes a charming showcase of the lead's robust screen presence, though it revels in graphic gore. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5a0vcy/war-machine/) - **Vulture** (60/100, inferred): The piece notes the film capitalizes on audience desire to see Ritchson fight a robot in a Predator-like setup but faults the thin characterization and lack of memorable supporting figures. It highlights gory action and Ritchson's physical presence. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/war-machine-netflix-movie-recap-review.html) - **The Guardian** (55/100, inferred): The film is a slick, unchallenging action thriller with better-than-usual streaming effects that makes for an easy Friday night watch. The critic praises the effective staging of some setpieces and super-sized special effects while complaining that the story is predictable with reheated action sequences and a generic alien antagonist. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/06/war-machine-netflix) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Frank Scheck (52/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a generic sci-fi actioner whose one-note story and indistinguishable characters limit its appeal despite Alan Ritchson's presence. Hughes is praised for staging viscerally forceful action scenes with skill. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/war-machine-review-alan-ritchson-dennis-quaid-1236521853/) - **The New York Times**, Robert Daniels (30/100, inferred): A brawny sci-fi actioner that exhaustingly leans on militaristic brutality to inspire character growth, with a dull training montage and a lead performance lacking depth. The film concludes by fashioning itself into a tasteless recruitment video. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/movies/war-machine-review.html) - **/Film**, Ben Pearson (78/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a sturdy, enjoyable sci-fi actioner centered on a solid Alan Ritchson performance despite its derivative nature. They single out the on-location photography and coherent structure as strengths compared to other Netflix originals. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/2117140/alan-ritchson-2026-sci-fi-action-movie-streaming-netflix-war-machine/) - **Digital Spy**, Ian Sandwell (75/100, inferred): The critic finds War Machine a fun, action-packed entertainment ideal for a weekend watch, blending elements of Reacher and Predator. They single out the brilliant action sequences, particularly a breathless five-minute chase scene, for praise. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a70618063/war-machine-netflix-alan-ritchson/) - **Polygon**, Tasha Robinson (75/100, inferred): War Machine succeeds as a lean, propulsive throwback action thriller built on practical stunts and real locations, evoking Predator and Aliens. The critic highlights the impressive physical action sequences, Ritchson's compelling screen presence, and the focus on competence and camaraderie amid the chaos. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/war-machine-review-netflix-alan-ritchson/) - **Collider**, Aidan Kelley (6/10): The film delivers a familiar but enjoyable sci-fi action vehicle for Alan Ritchson as a traumatized veteran turned Ranger trainee facing an alien threat. The critic singles out Ritchson's nuanced lead performance and at least one strong action sequence for praise while noting the story and villain feel by-the-numbers. [Read](https://collider.com/war-machine-review-netflix-alan-ritchson/) - **The Wrap** (45/100, inferred): The critic finds 'War Machine' a shameless but entertaining Predator knockoff that delivers cool action sequences with a giant robot. They criticize its simplistic characters, lack of subversion or intelligence, and pro-military propaganda stance. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/movies/war-machine-review-netflix-alan-ritchson/) ## Details - **Director:** Patrick Hughes - **Director:** Patrick Hughes - **Screenplay:** James Maclurcan, Patrick Hughes - **Story:** Patrick Hughes - **Cinematography:** Aaron Morton - **Editor:** Andy Canny - **Music:** Dmitri Golovko - **Production design:** Enzo Iacono - **Costume design:** Cappi Ireland - **Producer:** Todd Lieberman, Patrick Hughes, Alexander Young - **Cast:** Alan Ritchson as 81; Stephan James as 7; Blake Richardson as 15; Dennis Quaid as Sheridan; Esai Morales as Torres; Jai Courtney as Squad Leader; Alex King as 44; Keiynan Lonsdale as 60 - **Runtime:** 1h 50m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 6 March 2026 - **Genres:** Action, Science Fiction, Thriller - **Budget:** $73 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFuE1LRxm80 ## Where to watch in the US - Netflix: streaming *Checked 2026-09-22.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Predator* (1987), Fi1m 84: The model, and still the lesson in giving soldiers faces before the hunting starts. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/predator.md) - *Dog Soldiers* (2002): British squaddies, a Highland exercise, something in the woods; funnier and just as bloody. - *Kill Command* (2016): Marines sent to a training island where the machines have stopped taking orders. - *Southern Comfort* (1981), Fi1m 81: National Guardsmen lost in the bayou, hunted by men rather than machines, and scarier for it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/southern-comfort.md) - *Starship Troopers* (1997), Fi1m 79: The recruitment film that knows exactly what it is and smiles while it says so. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/starship-troopers.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/war-machine