Brad Pitt has been in his share of war movies, but none of them have looked quite like this. Our first look at War Machine shows us just how different a military movie this is going to be. Netflix paid a lot of money to get the rights to the new movie and now we have our first look at just what they bought. Check out the first trailer for War Machine.
While this is just first look, and as such doesn't show us a great deal about the film is actually about, the one thing that is made clear here is tone. There's a clear comedic aspect to this film, and considering the subject matter couldn't be more serious, it feels like it's black comedy. While the film's title makes it sound like an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, what we are really getting here is a look at the machine of war and the people that make sure that it continues to run smoothly.
Seeing a new major motion picture starring Brad Pitt is not all that surprising. What is surprising is the watermark advertising the company that's bringing it to us. War Machine will make its debut not on the big screen, but instead on the small one thanks to Netflix. The streaming media company paid $60 million for the rights to distribute the picture, showing that they are only becoming bigger players in the wider movie game. War Machine follows a multipicture deal with Adam Sandler as well as numerous other film and TV releases that have made Netflix a must for any TV or movie fan looking for quality content.
War Machine is based on the book The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan. It follows the events of General Stanley McChrystal who took over NATO operations in Afghanistan before resigning following a magazine article in which McChrystal was openly critical of civilian government officials.
Based on Brad Pitt's uniform at the end of the trailer, it appears his character's name has been changed to McMahon, likely in order to put some distance between the film and the real life events. It's possible there was some fear that the film could run into trouble if they used the General's real name. We'll have to wait and see just how true to life the events of War Machine are. It's possible that the movie has become more of a fictionalization of the real events.
Regardless of the subject matter, War Machine certainly looks like a movie worth checking out. In addition to Brad Pitt, the film boasts Tilda Swinton and Ben Kingsley among others. If this was a big screen release we'd certainly be checking it out. War Machine will premiere on Netflix May 26.
