Alan Ritchson Says WAR MACHINE’s Wild Zipline Stunt Was the Real Deal and “Pretty Terrifying”

Action movies love to promise practical stunts, but War Machine actually delivered on that promise in a big way. According to Alan Ritchson, one of the film’s most intense moments wasn’t enhanced with CGI trickery.

The dangerous zipline sequence in Netflix’s upcoming sci-fi action movie was performed for real, and Ritchson says the experience was genuinely frightening.

While talking with GamesRadar+, the Reacher star opened up about filming the brutal escape scene in the movie. The sequence puts his character, Army Ranger leader “81,” and his squad in a desperate fight for survival as they try to outrun a relentless threat. To escape, the team must cross violent rapids using a zipline and rope while chaos erupts around them.

And yes, Ritchson was actually in the water.

“That was a pretty rough week, but I was grateful to be doing it that way. 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.”

The sequence involves Ritchson’s squad racing away from the mysterious enemy known as the War Machine. With roaring whitewater blocking their path, the soldiers hook themselves to a line and attempt to zip across the deadly current.

It’s the kind of scene that feels like it would normally rely on digital effects, but the production leaned heavily on practical stunt work instead, which I appreciate!

War Machine is directed, co-written, and co-produced by Patrick Hughes, who wanted the film’s action to feel as grounded and visceral as possible.

The sci-fi story follows a squad of U.S. Army Rangers who have completed a brutal training program. Their final mission is supposed to be one last test, but the situation spirals out of control when they encounter a mysterious entity that may be impossible to kill.

Hughes explained that pulling off that zipline sequence required intense planning long before cameras rolled.

“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.”

For Ritchson and the stunt team, that preparation meant they could capture something that looks genuinely dangerous because it actually was. It’s the kind of practical stunt work that action fans love seeing on screen, especially in an era when many big sequences are built entirely in digital environments.

The creative team takes viewers on a seriously thrilling sci-fi action ride, and judging by Ritchson’s experience hanging over class five rapids, the cast definitely earned those adrenaline-pumping moments.