War Machine (2017)

“The thing about counterinsurgency is that it doesn’t really work. We tried it in Viet Nam. That went well… The British and the French gave it a shot trying to hang on to *their* crumbling empires… It just hasn’t worked. To me, it would seem kind of simple why. You can’t win the trust of a country by invading it. You can’t build a nation at gunpoint. ” – Sean

Number of Times Seen – 1 (29 May 2017)

Brief Synopsis – A satirical look at how the War in Afghanistan is being run by politicians instead of by the Military.

My Take on it – We all know how wars are run and fought based on films that we’ve seen.

Usually the films focus on the political aspects of it where we see the planners looking at it all from above or from the perspective of the grunts fighting the enemy tooth and nail in the trenches.

This film gives us a rather unique perspective of it all because we get to see it from the viewpoint of military commanders on the ground who must deal with all of the political bureaucracy in order to get done what they feel is needed in an attempt to win the war.

This gives us a very tongue in cheek look at how a war is run in this day and age and this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is the correct way to do things yet it is all presented quiet well.

Brad Pitt does a fine job in the lead role here yet a few of his character’s quirks get a bit annoying after a while.

The supporting cast is great and we get to see the diverse group of men and women that try and help Pitt’s character move his plan forward.

This film is far from perfect but it seems as if stories like this are the reason that the US is having trouble ending its war in The Middle East after 15+ years.

Bottom Line – I really liked the way they presented us with this story because we got to see things from the view of the military commanders on the ground instead of via the grunts in the trenches or via the politicians looking at everything from above.  Pitt does a great job as the lead here but some of his character’s quirks are a bit annoying.  The kind of men that the General keeps around him are a diverse group of personalities that all try and help in their own way to further the vision of their commander.  The tongue in cheek way that this story is presented works quite well and keeps things interesting but it is far from perfect. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The film was filmed in different parts of the UAE including Dubai and Abu Dhabi (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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