War Machine review: A lean, mean Predator redux for Reacher’s Alan Ritchson

The pleasures of Netflix’s sci-fi action movie War Machine are simple, straightforward, and gut-level. It’s a movie about tough people enduring rough stuff against long odds, building camaraderie and respect for each other against a background of obstacles, explosions, and an alien threat. Director and co-writer Patrick Hughes (The Hitman’s Bodyguard) points to John McTiernan’s 1987 franchise-starter Predator as an influence, alongside Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens. But he could just as well cite reality shows like Deadliest Catch. There’s a strong thread of competence porn running throughout War Machine — and it covers both what’s happening on screen, and what’s clearly going on behind it.