Netflix's 'War Machine' looks like 'Predator' meets 'Metal Gear', and we're 100% here for it

WAR MACHINE | Official Trailer | Netflix - YouTube

Pardon the confusion! No, this isn't an upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe origin story featuring Don Cheadle as the armored superhero known as War Machine, but a testosterone-fueled science fiction romp about a rogue robotic assault creation running amok in the forest.

If the classic video game franchise "Metal Gear" had a love child with 1987's "Predator," it would look suspiciously like "War Machine," Netflix’s military sci-fi movie starring "Reacher's" muscle-bound star Alan Ritchson.

The first trailer for this macho survival flick just stomped onto the internet last week with a gung-ho spirit and guns blazing. Here, Ritchson is the head honcho commanding a squad of heavily-armed special forces soldiers in the remote wilderness being hunted by a bipedal invader that looks something like "Robocop's" ED-209 enforcer droid on steroids.

Hailing from writer-director Patrick Hughes ("The Hitman’s Bodyguard," "The Man From Toronto"), "War Machine" charges onto Netflix's streaming service starting on March 6, 2026. In addition to Ritchson, the solid ensemble cast also includes Dennis Quaid, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Blake Richardson, Keiynan Lonsdale, and Daniel Webber.

a black sci-fi movie poster with orange lights and a running soldier — Retreat! Netflix's "War Machine" stars "Reacher's" Alan Ritchson (Image credit: Netflix)

It's told in the endearing spirit of classic '80s Hollywood action fare crammed full of bulging biceps and a hail of bullets, with all the usual Schwarzenegger-esque tropes on display in full force, and we love it all! The plot seems fairly straightforward as these affairs usually go, with a novice team of U.S. Army Ranger recruits discovering a marching mechanized threat in the woods during a simple training exercise.

"Whatever that thing is, it's hunting us, and it won’t stop," Ritchson declares in the trailer. "It's not about us anymore. It's warning everybody that thing's coming."

Judging on the appearance of the advanced combat chassis and matte black exterior, this stampeding adversary is either some lost piece of extraterrestrial hardware fulfilling its programming, or an experimental AI death weapon from a secret military skunk works being tested on these unknowing Rangers. Either way, it looks like some big dumb fun for sure!

Arriving on Netflix on March 6, "War Machine" powers up from a screenplay co-written by James Beaufort ("The Hitman’s Bodyguard"). Hughes will executive produce in association with Todd Lieberman, Alexander Young, Greg McLean, and Rich Cook.

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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