80s Nostalgia! War Machine (2026) || Movie Review.

Sometimes pain and loss either make or mar one. Depends on how you react to pain and loss. Do you give up or you continue to hold on until you get to a targeted goal in life? Well this movie is majorly about the pain and loss the main character experiences and how it affected his life.

When I saw the announcement of this movie I thought the main character would be a robotic soldier considering the title of the movie but it wasn't. It was something totally different.

Alan Ritchson is one of my favorite actors. I enjoy all his works although I feel he is just getting proper recognition as good actor after the first season of The Reacher. My love for his work goes way back to Smallville where he played the role of Aquaman. So when I saw this movie I couldn't let it pass me by.

War Machine (2026) is a sci-fi, action and military film. It is a movie that was produced, co-written and directed by Patrick Hughes. It starred Alan Ritchson as 81, Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Keiynan Lonsdale, and Daniel Webber.

The story of this movie centers around a USA military sergeant aka 81. In Afghanistan, a sergeant arrived to help a team whose convoy had broken down. The team is his younger brother's. As the sergeant was fixing what was broken in his brother's convoy, his brother tried to convince him that they should apply to the army ranger program. Finally, he was able to convince his brother. The sergeant was about to leave when they were attacked by the Talibans. This attack took the life of everyone except that of the sergeant and his brother.

Two years later, the sergeant applied to join the RASP program to be a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment. At registration he was assigned to Number 81. The rigorous draining commenced, and 81’s performance during the training was excellent. He excelled in every aspect of the training but never formed any bond with other recruits nor was he interested in leadership positions.

However, an incident occurred that made regiment leaders Sergeant Major Sheridan and First Sergeant Torres question the mental state and health of 81. They both told 81 to quit the program and attend to his mental health but 81 didn't back down. The program was almost coming to an end with a stimulated mission (death march) coming up. 81 was unexpectedly and involuntarily selected as a team leader. Will 81 Succeed? Who will cross the finish line?

My Review And Rating.

This movie offers two good hours of adrenaline and nostalgia. It purely has the vibe of 80s action films. Patrick Hughes was able to blend the 80s vibe with technological visual effects of our time. Giving us the feel of real nostalgia and ”at the edge of your seat” kind of adrenaline.

The storyline of this movie was well constructed and written. I love all the twists involved in the story. As you watch the movie, you would probably think it is just a military warfare kind of movie but you will be amazed to find out that this movie is a special blend of science fiction, action, military with powerful and heart-wrenching themes like; loss, death, pain, and past trauma. All the support characters were averagely written but not perfect to a satisfaction. However, the main character was well written and fully fleshed out.

The cinematography was fantastic, the world building was great. I love that there was no back story as to how the robotic invasion started, what they wanted, and who they were. That kept me in a place of mystery. The action scenes were amazing, and intense. It got to an extent that some action scenes looked horrific and unexpected which just reminded the viewers about the effect of war and chaos. The dialogues were well arranged and minimal.

One of the things I enjoyed about this movie is the alien machine that was after the lives of the ranger men. It was a machine that knew nothing about breaks or calmness. It was relentless all through the movie until it's weak point was found by the main character.

Also, Alan Ritchson proved why I like to watch any of his films. As always, he carried his role like he was born to play the role. Good Charisma, good mannerism and strong aura. He also depicted a soldier who had gone through a great loss in his past excellently. He was emotional when he needed to be and he was stoic when he needed to be. I enjoyed his performance throughout the movie. Other supporting characters were not given the chance to really shine because they all lacked backstories.

I say, War Machine was thrilling all through and it is a good Netflix production. Rating this movie, I will give it 8 out 10 stars. It was interesting, intense, enjoyable, entertaining and wild. If there would be a sequel, I think Patrick Hughes will not disappoint his viewers.

Have you seen War Machine? How was it for you?