Netflix's War Machine could become a sci-fi classic (as long as it doesn't get a sequel) |
War Machine is a perfect movie — if what you’re looking for in a movie is buff guys fighting an unstoppable killer alien across some far-flung, unforgiving terrain. Director Patrick Hughes delivers Netflix a modern interpretation of Predator with a few notable changes: For one thing, instead of an entire cast of recognizable beefcakes, War Machine star Alan Ritchson carries the movie on his back, while everyone else is mostly disposable. For another, we never actually see what the aliens look like in this movie; the only on-screen enemy is a robotic, weaponized spaceship.
But there’s one more potential difference between War Machine and Predator that I hope to see play out: Unlike the 1980s classic that inspired it, War Machine should never get a sequel.
There’s a lot going against this argument. Not only is War Machine already a huge hit for Netflix (which needs its own franchises now more than ever), but Hughes very clearly and deliberately sets up a sequel. “I know exactly where it’s going,” the director told ScreenRant in a recent interview. “War Machines is gonna be sick,” Ritchson added, referencing the........