War Machine *** (2017)

The Netflix film War Machine stars Brad Pitt as a fictional version of the Afghanistan commander Stanley McChrystal who was removed from his post after an unflattering 2010 article in Rolling Stone.  I recall reading the article as a depiction of McChrystal and his staff as cowboys running roughshod out on the fringes of Empire, they were also less than thrilled with President Obama. 

Pitt plays the fictional version (General Glen McMahon) as a laconic dunce with good intentions.  Upon arrival, a defanged version of Lt. Aldo Raine from Inglorious Basterds, he inspects the base of operations like George C. Scott in Patton.  Only he ain't no Patton, in fact the entire movie is a Patton told in reverse.  McMahon walked into the middle of a war with unclear objectives, a counter-insurgency impossible to defeat, and a lukewarm public on the homefront. Attempts to win the "hearts and minds" of the Afghani locals meet with predictable results.

It should also be pointed out there's hardly any actual fighting in the film, except for a brief battle at the end.  The tone of War Machine falls somewhere between satire and drama, a combination that will irk some, but appropriate for the material.  A first rate supporting cast and some A-list cameos are a big plus.