Welcome back to Movie Recap. Today I'm gonna show you a 2017 American satirical war film called,
War Machine. Spoilers ahead. Watch out and take care.
The movie starts with the narrator praising America and saying that if the war seems
impossible to win, you bring a new guy — and that time, in the 2009 war in Afghanistan,
it was Glen. He graduated from Yale, was a disciplined man, and many other things
accomplished. He was appointed as the leader of the US and coalition forces of Afghanistan.
The narrator keeps talking about Glen’s character — his achievements, personality, and habits.
As he’s the general, he needs a little support from troops, thus requesting one.
There is also one general, Greg, who’s also graduated in the same class as Glen and has
anger issues. Andy, on the other hand, provides IT support while Pete is the navy seal. Andy is the
marketing hotshot and Willy is Glen’s body man. These men love their General Glen and likewise.
Together with his soldiers, he comes to the office of the president and he
is being told to focus on Afghanistan as the war is going on for eight years now.
The civilian executives ask Glen to finish the war and not to ask the president for more troops.
The next day, Glen goes to meet President Karzai; he was told by the executive to not be nervous;
which he’s not. When he enters his office, the president seems jolly and innocent;
he says that Glen’s direction seems like the old one but he smells a new direction
coming from him as a general. He wishes him the best of luck; meanwhile, Glen highlights that
he wants a tour with him of the country as a unified endeavor project. The president thanks
him but says he has already seen the country. Glen goes to Kandahar and meets the Lieutenant
Colonel. In a clip, it states that when a country invades a place, there will be
civilians that have weapons called insurgents which are most likely impossible to defeat.
Thus, what they are trying to do right now is convince the country they invaded that they are
here to help. It is called counterinsurgency — wherein they persuade the people that they
are better off with them than the insurgents. Moreover, they also need to build infrastructures
such as roads, schools, and the like; as well as make friends with the people while killing
the insurgents. Nation-building with the heart and mind is also important which they are doing.
Back in their base, Glen’s man is advising him to cut loose the provinces that are not sympathetic
to them such as Helmand. The next day, Glen says that he finished the assessment and he
decides to take Helmand and Kandahar because nobody believes that they can earn their trust.
He then states the mission to the other soldiers wherein they are there to build and protect
and not intimidate. It may be a complex war, but they should win nonetheless.
Glen is now face-timing Dick, one of the civilian executives. He is now asking for
more troops for their mission in Helmand but he refuses and gets mad because, in the first place,
they have already told Glen about no more troops. They are now in the physical meeting and the
secretary tells him that they really can't send troops because it will
go with the election and it is not good. Going outside, he meets the marine troops
headed to Sasquatch base. They had just been to Italy but the soldiers had long and tired faces.
He assumes that they had fun in the country but one of them, answers and swears that it
is not good and is definitely in shambles. Glen decides to be with the troops since they need him.
At their meeting, Glen explains the mission but one of them seems to be a little confused
in terms of their doing wherein they are convincing or pretending to be good guys.
More so, he is also puzzled about the courageous restraint in terms of killing and recognizing
insurgents. He is struggling to comprehend their objectives; Glen leaves him unconfused.
After the Afghan elections, Badi joins Glen’s team — he now has an Afghan to their troop as the
aide-de-camp. He goes with him for a meeting that then again, fails to accommodate Glen’s requests.
When he gets to the base, his man tells him that his report got leaked by The Washington Post.
Being terrible news, he decides to have a 60-minute interview; his senior PAO refuses
the idea as it is not the right time to court media attention. His right hand believes in
Glen’s idea because he states that they need to bring up their noise and embrace the traction.
Now, they are having the interview together with the press.
One of his men goes to the interviewer and suggests asking the general about
the amount he talks with the president since he’s elected to the position.
As it started, within Glen’s talking, the interview then asks about how many times he has
had a conversation with the president. He replies only one time, thus, roasting him even more.
Dick, an executive, calls Glen; he’s fuming mad because he’s on television backing the president.
As he keeps on shouting, Glen pretends to have a connectivity problem and even
begins to act together with his IT support. They ended the call purposely with a laugh.
The next day, the president is now live on television,
clearing up about the mission and strategy regarding their efforts in Afghanistan.
He also states that he will send 30,000 troops to the country that will return home after eighteen
months. He is now saying so many things while Glen is working out; as he listens,
he fills in rage and gets really mad. Together with his men, they release anger at
the president’s statement because it seems like all their efforts are going to waste. Glen then
tells his men that it looks like they’re going to Europe; he orders them to pack their things.
When they arrived, the president then asks him for a meeting; despite the tight schedule,
it looks like they can work on it. One of his men tells him to meet his wife in the other room so
he goes ahead. He sees his wife and apologizes about his schedule. He gives her a kiss and a
tight hug. Glen tells her that he hopes that they can see some sights and have some alone time in
Paris. His wife says that it’s okay whatever may happen because she is there to support him. They
catch about other things such as their son and his girlfriend as well as his work with the president.
It is now the day for the president's meeting. The men gather up and talk about
their schedule then Glen goes up to prepare. Suddenly, Pat sits in front of him and starts
talking about a lot of things which kind of irritates him. Pat says he’s not here to win
but rather to fix his mess about the war. He then goes off his seat and pats Glen’s back.
The president is now arriving at the place and they form a line to welcome him.
He apologizes for his very tight schedule and takes a picture with him.
He gets mad in silence as the president and Pat enters the plane.
The narrator, Sean, is now meeting General Glen at a dinner. He is the editor of the Rolling
Stones and has written some things about him. They shake hands and Glen says to put him on
the cover and he replies that it is between him and Lady Gaga. He then states that he should put
him in a bathtub next to her with petals, his wife tells him to stop joking but he says he’s serious.
Through the dinner tables, the seating is arranged and it seems to Bani, the Afghan soldier that
someone is in his seat but he doesn’t move at all. Tom Howard, who steals the seat from Badi,
convinces the general that there are more people that he could meet. He says so many things then
Glen realizes that Badi should be on that seat. He scolds Tom and raises his voice and he apologizes.
A man goes to him saying he doesn’t want Glen to be awkward at the dinner and so they’ll
send the troops but Paris and France won’t be easy. Badi then seats in his designated seat.
It’s Glen and his wife’s anniversary. They go to a fancy dinner and talk. However,
Glen gets pissed because he feels bad about what his wife says about calculating days wherein,
he wasn’t with her and his family. Jeanie says she’s proud of him and is proud of herself
as well. She sees her husband’s long face and tells him that everything is going to be okay.
On the other hand, the men are now drinking in a bar and talking about their mission.
Glen comes to the place together with his wife and they welcome him. The soldiers dance while
Glen’s man tells him that they are not being allowed to have a flight to Berlin tomorrow.
The next day, as the flight is canceled, they just ride a bus and drink again.
Arriving there, the general is now doing his conference which he’s explaining the
math of counterinsurgency — when you kill one, they multiply. A woman raises her hand for a
commentary; she says that Glen only mentioned Al Qaeda once while it’s the main issue,
his concept of insurgency also contradicts the point thus the woman concludes that it is a war
they’ll never win. Glen begs to differ and says he wants the freedom to conquer as well as progress.
She questions his sense of self and further explains her job to protect the Germans.
On their way home, he seems a little pissed so his wife comforts him. His man tells him that the
German minister agrees with the troops but won’t let their men leave the base. Sean, the narrator,
observes the general having a long face and concludes that maybe he went grey
because what he hopes almost came to nothing. Glen goes to a statue and gives his salute.
The troops are now there and in for a meeting. The spokesperson is now
explaining their assessments such as getting the Helmand province — a very important mission.
With the help of a map, the boys are now trying to find ways where to go and get their assumptions.
However, Frank keeps on questioning what are they trying to call apart from nothing which
pisses Glen off so he tells him to take a step back. He is now calling the President but it
seems that he’s sick, but Glen’s mission is urgent so he decides to come over right away.
In the bedroom, the president is sick watching television and he apologizes for being sick.
Glen then states that they are launching operation Moshtarak tonight and they need his consent.
He gets confused because it never happens; Glen says that it’s urgent. He approves the operation,
wishing him luck and success. Pat tells him good luck for tonight which pisses Glen off
for him knowing; he swears at him real hard. The leaders are now telling the troops, giving
them a heads-up regarding how tough it will be. It is a real deal — the places are now ground zero
and there will be IEDs everywhere. The spokesperson then says it can get ugly
or they’ll lose but he knows them thus he believes in what they can. He tells them
to carry their pride and goes with a prayer. The night comes and the helicopter arrives at
the place. The soldiers move to the place amidst the dim. Glen becomes nervous about
the operation so his men comfort and motivate him in whatever way they can.
Meanwhile, they go to the province and it is now daylight with the striking sun.
A bullet then approaches them so they get to the wall. Another firing bullets come again to their
way; Cole then shoots them but the lieutenant gives a warning because they can’t kill those
who don’t have weapons. They move in and go through walls and houses ending up clear.
They decide to hold a meeting and task everyone in a respective place to work on.
He assigns guys that will stay with him and the rest will stay put.
On the other roof, they are detecting movements so they prepare their guns. He asks if they are armed
but he says he doesn’t know. Cole, on the other hand, raises his voice and swears of course they
are armed. One of them gets a shot right through the eye and Cole decides to load a few bullets.
They fire more and get nice shooting but then one of them gets shot again on his face. Cole gets
pissed so he goes outside the building and decides to go directly to the place where the enemy is.
He walks very fast and opens a gate silently. He enters and shoots those armed men but encounters
a fearful man together with his dead child. Cole sits in the chair as he gets emotional.
The leaders see civilian casualties so they go to the man. Luckily, one of them speaks
Pashto. They discover that the man didn’t know the bad guys and commanded his house.
He has nowhere to go so they give him some money. An aircraft lands and Glen goes to the civilian
and apologizes. He states that rebuilding is what they’re here for. Many civilians gather and so
Glen decides to persuade by stating that they will build schools and provide jobs. He says that the
Taliban won’t help them; it’s them who will help only. He shows his hand as the hand of helping.
A man speaks in Pashto and states that he likes his intent to help but it will be more mess for
them. He pleads for them to leave now. He again persuades them about security and the bountiful
future but they only tell him to leave now. Glen goes back to staring at nothingness while
at the air. He gets mad as he tells his men to kill those insurgent men. He goes to his room
to calm down and read a book. His man wakes him up to tell him that The Rolling Stone article
came out and isn’t good. It says that they were all just drinking across Europe which is true.
They are now panicking because it’s playing bad. The soldiers then argue and raise voices;
swearing and attempting to beat each other. Glen stops them calmly.
Dick calls him saying that the president wants to meet him. The next day, he salutes all his men and
then goes. His men give him a meaningful gaze full of love as he walks and leaves.
Willy assures him that the general does not need him anymore and gives a salute.
The narrator states that Glen finally facetime the president and got fired in the middle of the call.
His mission ends in a way that everyone can think of. The movie
ends with the narrator announcing the new general to take Glen’s position, Bob.