Mediaboss Marketing

In a week that Netflix is using to unveil trailers for numerous high-profile original films, the streaming giant has released a teaser for War Machine, a wartime comedy whose cast contains an array of notable names, headlined by Brad Pitt. While fans of Tarantinos WWII apocrypha Inglourious Basterds will embrace the idea of Pitt once again playing a tough, gruff, though slightly askew military man, War Machine happens to be a satirical and quasi-biographical work based on a real life general who ran the Afghanistan War for two Presidents.

Indeed, War Machine is a thinly-veiled adaptation of the 2012 non-fiction book The Operators by Michael Hastings in which the journalist recounts his Afghanistan War embedment with the head of Joint Special Operations Command General Stanley McCrystal during early 2010. With the War Machine teaser trailer touching upon the quandaries that plagued U.S. forces during that war, Brad Pitts quasi-McCrystal General Dan McMahon is seen in defiantly sarcastic form as hes handed the baton for the Afghanistan War. While thats pretty much the extent of the brief clip, we can imagine that if the tenure of McMahon is anything like McCrystals, then it will be filled with triumph, tragedy and controversy, along with a few notably public spats with the executive branch.

War Machine also has quite the supporting cast, filled with known names like Tilda Swinton, Ben Kingsley, Scoot McNairy, Topher Grace, Anthony Michael Hall, Meg Tilly and Alan Ruck. The film also has up-and-coming young talent, as well. Will Poulter of The Revenant, Were the Millers and The Maze Runner, was also briefly cast as clown Pennywise in the It reboot before a major upheaval. RJ Cyler was co-star of the acclaimed dramedy Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and will play Blue Ranger Billy in Marchs Power Rangers reboot film. Lakeith Stanfield, who played a young Snoop Dogg in Straight Outta Compton and appears on FX series Atlanta, will also be seen in the upcoming live-action film adaptation of popular anime Death Note. Emory Cohen, formerly of TVs Smash, was seen in drama Brooklyn and on the recent Netflix sci-fi series The OA.

War Machine is mostly the brainchild of Aussie helmer David Michd, who wrote the script adapting Hastingss book and directed the film. Michds previous features include the 2014 Guy Pearce-starring crime drama The Rover, which he wrote based on a story from actor Joel Edgerton. Relevantly, the duo of Pearce and Edgerton were the featured stars in Michds 2010 directorial breakthrough in drama Animal Kingdom. Star Brad Pitt also serves as a producer on the film.

War Machine gets ready to see Brad Pitt somewhat channel the Nazi-killin memory of Lt. Aldo Raine as a rough-edged general whos been put in charge of one of Americas longest wars when the film debuts on Netflix on May 26.

Read the rest here:
War Machine Trailer: Brad Pitt is a Gruff General in the Afghanistan War - Den of Geek US