Based on the book The Operators by Michael Hastings, War Machine tells the fictionalised story of General Glen McMahon (Brad Pitt). After McMahon is established as the commander of all forces in Afghanistan, he tries to juggle the various political aspects of the war. McMahon's career and ultimate goal of winning the war are challenged by his allies, his enemies, and the journalist who tells his story to the world.
A satirical look at the military is one that we rarely get to see, especially one that is tied so close to real events. Since the story presents itself as a fictional story, I wasn't too concerned with what really happened. As a story, it is a fairly interesting one, and one that doesn't flinch in the face of the darker aspects of the war (a somewhat redundant description of war, now that I think of it). In the face of such a serious topic, a very light, satirical approach seems a bit strange, and that's the inherent flaw of the film.
As a comedy, War Machine is a bit uneven. The humour itself is a bit hit and miss, which can also be said for Brad Pitt's performance as McMahon. While the over-the-top nature of it fits the film's tone, it slides into caricature a bit too often. Pitt is giving a performance eerily similar to the one from Inglorious Basterds, and the sense of "I'm not quite taking this seriously" makes it a bit hard to stay on-board with his character. When the film goes for a very poignant emotional scene in the middle of the story with McMahon's wife, it contrasts sharply with the growling, squinting character that we see throughout the rest of the film.
The film never tries to present itself as a serious analysis of how the military functions, but does slip in quite a few satirical jabs. I won't pretend that I'm an expert on recent military operations and history, so I found the story somewhat engaging as a story, but not as much as a satire. There are certainly moments where the comedy is strong, and some moments shine above the rest, whether serious or not. And yet, immediately after the film was over, I struggled to remember even one joke. The film works very well in the moment, but the the sum of all parts is never superior to a small selection of parts.
War Machine doesn't have the look of a comedy; it looks like a drama or a war film. But when the film actually tries to be come a war film, it feels a little jarring. I knew that the film would have to get serious eventually, but when it actually does, it feels tame. As biting of a satire as it's trying to be, it doesn't go all-out when it's actually portraying war. Maybe it's because of how the real events occurred, but having a very brief battle with no casualties except for one - off-screen and with minimal injury - doesn't really sell the impact of the moment. The constant, uninterested-sounded voice-over throughout the film also muffles the overall impact.
There's really just not a lot to say about this film. The tonal dissonance doesn't sink the story completely, Pitt's cartoonish performance is balanced out by the excellent supporting cast, and there are quite a few moments in the film that work, both dramatically and comically. But as a whole, War Machine is just a fairly middling experience. It delivers about what you'd expect from a biopic, with an inconsistent and stylistically flat approach to its story. I expected a lot more from this film based on the premise and cast alone, but all I can really say about it is "it's a movie I saw."
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