War Machine

War Machine is a satirical war drama about a decorated American general, Glen McMahon, who is handed command of the troops in Afghanistan. The war is widely regarded as unwinnable, but McMahon is convinced he can turn it around, and he arrives with a radically new strategy. Putting it into practice means travelling the world to hold together fragile alliances, drum up additional forces, and handle politicians and the press, while the fighting and the soldiers on the ground remain the point of it all. The story draws on the reporting of journalist Michael Hastings and his book about General Stanley McChrystal's time in Afghanistan.

David Michôd directed and wrote the screenplay, following his earlier features Animal Kingdom (2010) and The Rover (2014). Brad Pitt, who also produced, plays McMahon, with Anthony Michael Hall, Emory Cohen, John Magaro and Topher Grace among the officers and advisers around him, and Tilda Swinton appearing as a German politician. Roughly sixty cast members and a similar number of crew are credited.

Released in May 2017, the film cost about 60 million dollars. Its reception was mixed across the board: on IMDb it holds 6 out of 10 from around 49,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 5.6 from roughly 1,300 votes, and the critics' score of 5.7 from 95 reviews puts it close to the audience verdict rather than above or below it. Michôd's next feature, The King, followed in 2019.