Alan Ritchson Breaks Down War Machine’s Most Dangerous Practical Stunt

Netflix’s War Machine may feature some of the most life-threatening action sequences, but the majority of them have little to no CGI behind them, specifically the zipline escape stunt. In a recent discussion, Alan Ritchson confirmed that they predominantly used practical effects to shoot what is arguably the movie’s most daunting scene, adding that the experience was “pretty terrifying” for him.

Alan Ritchson talks zipline escape scene in Netflix’s War Machine

The Reacher star broke down a particular chase sequence from his Netflix film War Machine, stating that the entire scene included “real” stunts.

“That was a pretty rough week, but I was grateful to be doing it that way,” Alan Ritchson told GamesRadar+. “It was pretty terrifying getting in that water, falling in, trying to stay, stay afloat. The zipline, all that… it was real, you know. There’s just no way to fake that. If we did that on blue screen in a sound stage or something… which we were told we’d have to do […] but you can’t do that. You can’t do a crossing over a class five rapid like that. But, we pulled it off.”

Directed, co-produced, and co-written by Patrick Hughes, the science-fiction action movie revolves around a US Army Ranger squad, headed by Alan Ritchson’s ’81.’ After going through a rigorous training program, the team’s mission is to fend off an unidentified entity as their final challenge. However, things soon go from bad to worse as the rangers realize their enemy might just be unkillable.

The stunt in question involves 81 and his squad desperately attempting to escape from the clutches of the titular War Machine. In the scene, the team, who are on the run, come across vicious rapids and have to cross the patch of water with the help of a hook and some rope in order to survive.

Additionally, Hughes emphasized how the stunts were possible without VFX only due to extensive pre-production procedures, “just to end up there on the day with an actor jumping in grade five rapids with all the safety and the insanity that it took.”

War Machine premiered on Netflix on March 6 and has primarily garnered positive reviews from critics.

Originally reported by Apoorv Rastogi on SuperHeroHype.

Source: Comingsoon.net