War Machine: New photos released

Still images from War machine. Courtesy twofour54

Just days before its much-anticipated Netflix release, exclusive War Machine images have been released by local producer twofour54 Abu Dhabi.

The war satire featuring Brad Pitt was shot in Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah back in 2015. The movie will be available on Netflix on Friday, May 26.

We don’t learn too much more from these shots than we’ve already seen in the trailers — Pitt features heavily, in character as General Glen McMahon, while one intriguing shot appears to feature director David Michod in front of a UAE military transport helicopter.

The flag on the helicopter is, admittedly inverted 180-degrees, but that seems likely to be a trick of the camera.

Will the UAE military actually play some role in the film? Or is the helicopter simply being used for transporting cast and crew? We’ll find out on Friday.

In terms of locations, we can’t garner too much. Some of the shots are interiors, while the exterior shots are fairly generic desert or army camp shots. One shot, presumably from Ras Al Khaimah, which stood in for an Afghan village, appears to show Pitt and several military friends walking through a traditional bazaar.

The production crew spent around a month shooting in the UAE in September and October of 2015. The film features Hollywood stars such as Ben Kingsley, Will Poulter, Tilda Swinton and Ben Kingsley alongside Pitt. The film also used over 2,000 locally recruited extras, who played a mix of Afghan villagers in Ras Al Khaimah, and Western military personal alongside Pitt and co.