Alan Ritchson in ‘War Machine’
Credit: Ben King/Netflix
NEED TO KNOW
War Machine, starring Alan Ritchson, premiered on March 6 on Netflix
The survival film features the actor as a nameless soldier going up against a seemingly unbeatable foe
War Machine also stars Dennis Quaid, Keiynan Lonsdale and Jai Courtney, among others
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Netflix’s War Machine
War Machine is a brutal battle.
The Netflix action film stars Reacher actor Alan Ritchson, whose nameless character is only known as the number 81. He is among a group of soldiers who embark on a grueling multi-week course to become U.S. Army Rangers. Their final test pits them against an “unimaginable threat,” per the movie’s logline — one that is truly out of this world.
For the last round of training, 81 and his team are part of a mission for which they are sent behind enemy lines. During the simulated exercise, they have to destroy a captured classified military aircraft, and bring back the pilot who is being held as a prisoner of war. The test intensifies when they encounter a giant robot from outer space that is set on killing all of them.
War Machine harkens back to 1980s survival films like First Blood and Predator, and similar to the latter sci-fi classic starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, War Machine is also an alien invasion movie. After the giant robot crash lands on Earth, the group must stop the intergalactic killing machine before it takes over the world — all without deadly weapons at their disposal.
Ritchson leads the cast, which also includes Keiynan Lonsdale, Stephan James, Jai Courtney, Esai Morales, Blake Richardson, Daniel Webber and Dennis Quaid.
Here’s the ending of Netflix’s War Machine explained.
How does War Machine end?
Alan Ritchson and Stephan James in ‘War Machine’
Credit: Ben King/Netflix
During a final confrontation, 81 uses a bulldozer and pins the machine against a rock wall in a quarry. While the robot is trapped, 81 activates a conveyor belt above the alien, which sends an avalanche of rocks on top of it, blocking its ventilator, and causing it to explode.
After finally defeating the machine, 81 carries 7 back to base camp. Upon their arrival, they learn that the entire Earth has been invaded by robots like the one they just fought.
While the team was away on their training mission, military forces around the globe had activated and united to fight the invasion in “Operation Global Shield.”
With that, 81 becomes a U.S. Ranger and goes right into his next battle, boarding a helicopter to help in the fight against the machines attacking the planet.
Is the machine defeated?
Dennis Quaid, Esai Morales and Alan Ritchson in ‘War Machine’
Credit: Ben King/Netflix
Yes, the alien robot is defeated in War Machine.
Despite 81 and his team only being equipped with blanks, they still manage to stop the robot. Eventually, 81 realizes the machine has a vent, which he obstructs with rocks.
After 81 arrives back to base camp, Sergeant Major Sheridan asks how he defeated it, and 81 reveals the robot has a vent “like a radiator in a Humvee.”
“If you jam it hard enough, the whole system chokes,” he says.
What is the machine?
Alan Ritchson in ‘War Machine’
Credit: Ben King/Netflix
It is unclear what the machines are but it’s established that it’s aliens.
A news broadcast explains that what NASA believed to be an asteroid, split into “countless pods.” The pods landed all over the Earth, and transformed into the unstoppable machines 81 and his soldiers fought.
The report also announced that thousands more pods were headed for the planet, sparking a worldwide international defense response.
Which characters survive in War Machine?
‘War Machine’
Credit: Ben King/Netflix
Only two members of the Ranger trainees survive the fight against the machine: 81 and 7, who is wounded, but carried back to base camp.
Two other characters, Army Officer Torres and Army Sergeant Major Sheridan, are also alive, but they didn’t go out into the field with the other soldiers.
What is the name of Alan Ritchson’s character?
‘War Machine’
Credit: Ben King/Netflix
The name of Ritchson’s character is not revealed. Throughout War Machine he is only called “81,” his number when he enters the Rangers training.
The movie ends with 81 boarding a helicopter to go and fight in Operation Global Shield against the robots. A sergeant on the helicopter lists off which Rangers are on board and he spots 81, who has fallen asleep after his long battle against the robot.
“Hey! Anybody catch his name?” he asks, as everyone in the chopper shakes their head.
The movie cuts to credits before viewers learn 81’s real name.
Read the original article on People