War Machine Review: 4 Ups & 5 Downs

4. It Lacks Satirical Bite

Despite being positioned as a war satire on the level of, say, M*A*S*H or Three Kings, War Machine is surprisingly light when it comes to the barbed digs at the futility of war.

Instead, it's more of a character study centered around General McMahon's crusade in Afghanistan, while occasionally peppered with tragi-comedic undertones. If you're going into this hoping for In the Loop levels of bite, you'll probably be left at least a little disappointed at its rather basic assessment of the War in Afghanistan.

That's not say that the film doesn't have its smart and hilarious moments, but for the most part Michôd's screenplay opts for the easy gags. It's clear that satire isn't his strong suit, and going by the bleak seriousness of most of his prior filmography, that's not too surprising.