Review of War Machine (2017) by Sassymah — 25 May 2017

The media's smear campaign and bias against this film is really being destructive. The injustice of the reviews who refuse to understand the relevance and poignancy of this film really is unsettling. War Machine is one of the most intelligent, complex, nuanced, and provocative films of 2017. A worthy Oscar contender with strong performances across the board and sharp writing is being trashed with the press agenda against Brad, this film, and netflix. The film neither glorifies or vilifies the military. It is about government dsyfunction and shades of gray in policies of war. The bad reviews against this film are superficial, crass, and do not appear to grasp the dark tone of satire.

War Machine is The Big Short of war films and has the kind of dark underlying humor that Inglourious Basterds or Burn After Reading had. War Machine is a superior film to Allied or Fury, so the fact that the biased reviews are giving a extraordinary and compelling film like War Machine a lower score than those films is really disturbing to me.

Brad is a revelation here. His performance contains a range and a level of verstaility that perfectly embodies the absurdist satirical tone of the piece. There is a lot of sensitivity and humanity given to his performance as well as a gonzo levity and portrayal of human arrogance/falliability. Topher Grace, Lakeith Stanfield, Tilda Swinton, Meg Tilly, Ben Kingsley, and the entire ensemble all give grounded performances that perfectly off-set the deconstruction and nuanced nature of this film. There are no clear cut good guys or bad guys in this movie.

It is all about exposing the flawed doctrines of insurgency and occupation. I would recommend this film for smart viewers. This film deserves Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor, Original Score, Cinematography, and Editing. Alas, the sleazy press who is determined to make this captivating, groundbreaking and yet strange film a debacle is going to negatively impact its chances.