War Machine

This Netflix original, a nominally fictionalised military-political satire set in war-torn Afghanistan in 2010, is released in selected cinemas to qualify for the Oscars, but primarily aimed at the subscriber market. It marks the American debut of critically acclaimed Australian writer/director David Michôd (Animal Kingdom, The Rover) and stars a scenery-munching Brad Pitt (also a producer) as Glen McMahon, a surrogate of real-life four-star general Stanley McChrystal, whose career was foreshortened by criticisms he made about President Obama in Rolling Stone. Determined to take back Helmand Province with guts and glory, he locks horns with a Democrat administration reluctant to commit troops and falls foul of Ben Kingsley's bed-bound President Karzai and Scoot McNairy's embedded reporter. With a Popeye expression and a frankly hilarious jogging style, Pitt is by turns pompous, deluded and loyal (glimpses of his marriage to Meg Tilly are truly touching). It's a prestige package, with stunningly shot desert exteriors by Dariusz Wolski (the Pirates of the Caribbean series) but weakened by reliance on narration for its best lines. Less "war is hell"; more "war is stupid".