Alan Ritchson (‘Reacher’) on filming ‘War Machine’: “There were a lot of moments of doubt for me, personally”
Patrick Hughes, director of the film, reveals the scene that inspired him to make this action and science fiction film.
‘War Machine,’ an action sci-fi film in which Alan Ritchson battles an alien mecha, arrives on Netflix today. It certainly looks like it’s going to be a hit. It’s one of the most eagerly awaited films of the spring, and its director, Patrick Hughes (‘Expendables 3’), and Ritchson himself talked about it in an interview.
Hughes’ inspiration came from an image of a real training exercise, as Ritchson actually plays one of the Rangers preparing for combat... when combat finds them. “Out of the dead of night, I saw this image. It was 200 soldiers. They all had numbers… they were fully kitted up with all their weaponry, and they were just jogging in dead silence followed by these military trucks,“ Hughes said in an interview with Screenrant. ”I felt like that was a really potent ground for storytelling to explore a character that wasn’t about wanting to cross a finish line. It’s like, ‘I need to cross a finish line for my own salvation.’”
Anyone would say, seeing how fit Ritchson is and that he never loses weight, that filming could be demanding for him from that point of view. But ‘War Machine’ really put him to the test, as he admits.
“We were doing the class-five rapids, and I was a little concerned about jumping in that water and how that would work,” says Ritchson. “And the currents were severe that day. He jumped in jeans, and his pockets were ripped off his pants. And he was like, ‘Just so you know, it’s pretty strong down there. Here’s what you have to do in case it pulls you down.’”
“There’s really nothing you could do to prepare for that much physicality. You just got to get in there and do it,” he continues. “There were a lot of moments of doubt for me, personally. I’d come home and I would have serious reservations about how I would figure out physically getting through the next day.”
In Ritchson’s words, it was a shoot that almost felt like real military training. “We’re out there going through hell together and having to pick each other up, and keep pushing. And there’s tears on set and there’s blood, and you’re going like, ‘We’re going to keep going.’ Everybody’s pushing each other,” concludes the burly actor.
When is ‘War Machine’ coming out?
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Let’s not wait any longer: ‘War Machine’ is going to be one of the most talked-about films for months to come, and we can watch it right now, as it’s available on Netflix. The next time we talk about it will be to say that it’s number one on the platform, so you’ve been warned.
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