Directed by Patrick Hughes, ‘War Machine’ presents an action-packed science-fiction movie that finds the protagonist facing an impossible enemy. Soldier number 81 only has one objective in life: to pass the highly coveted selection program to become a RASP Ranger.

The Jack Reacher star isn’t going to become the next Schwarzenegger if he stars in generic junk like this.

For nearly five decades, Steven Spielberg has helped define what alien stories mean to movie audiences. Sometimes they arrive as cosmic miracles. Sometimes as existential threats. Sometimes as something stranger and harder to name. Now, the director behind ...