A new sci-fi action thriller called War Machine, which stars Alan Ritchson (Reacher) in the lead role, is now streaming on Netflix, and the review embargo only lifted a few hours ago. This is usually not a great sign, but so far, the reviews have been mostly quite positive.
Reviews are still being added to Rotten Tomatoes, but for now, War Machine is sitting at a very respectable 82% on the popular aggregator.
Directed by Patrick Hughes (Red Hill, The Expendables 3, The Hitman's Bodyguard), the movie focuses on a group of U.S. Army Rangers on a training exercise who encounter what appears to be some kind of sentient alien(?) mech.
"During the final stage of US Army Ranger selection, an elite team's training exercise turns into a fight for survival against an unimaginable threat," reads a brief logline.
Ritchson - who is still a top fan pick to play Batman in the DCU - revealed what drew him to his character, who goes by the call sign 81, during a recent interview.
“I’ve got brothers. I’ve got sons. Doesn’t matter which direction I look at it, I understand well the lengths one would go to to protect and honor the ones I love. There is no limit on this side of life to how much I’d suffer for my family if it gave them even a second of relief. That’s 81 all day. He’s somebody I would always want by my side in battle, even if only metaphorically speaking. It’s cool to know there’s a part of him inside of me, but I hope people realize there’s a part of 81 in all of us.”
"Got like nine [movies] coming out, dude, it's crazy," he added. "War Machine for Netflix. I think, and you heard it here first, probably gonna be the, no, not probably, gonna be the biggest movie that Netflix has ever had. This movie is gonna be a monster. This is the coolest thing they've ever made, guaranteed."
Check out the trailer and a clip below and let us know if you plan on watching War Machine this weekend.
The script was written Patrick Hughes and James Beaufort. Todd Lieberman and Alexander Young of Hidden Pictures produce, along with Hughes & Greg McLean of Huge Film, and Rich Cook of Range. The movie was filmed on location in & around Melbourne, Australia.
War Machine is set to premiere on Netflix on March 6, and also stars Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Blake Richardson, Keiynan Lonsdale and Daniel Webber.