Alan Ritchson, known for playing Hank Hall in DC’s Titans and Aquaman in Smallville, did not shy away when it came to clapping back at his critics. His latest Netflix film, War Machine, may be pulling in strong viewership numbers, but it has also faced a wave of criticism due to his age. But Ritchson did not need to say much before the critics got a reality check. 

The United States Army has recently made a change in enlistment age, and Ritchson quickly shared a message calling out critics and doubters.

Taking to his Instagram account, Alan Ritchson addressed the criticism head-on, revealing that some had argued he was “too old” to convincingly play a soldier. Calling out the backlash, the 43-year-old actor pointed out that the United States Army recently raised its maximum enlistment age from 35 to 42 t ease the rules for recruits to widen its hiring pool.

“Where are my haters at? All the War Machine haters, people that watch that movie and up in the comments, he's too old to be playing a soldier,” he said. “Well, guess what? Guess what, U.S, just raised the enlistment age to what? 42,” he wrote.

These changes are set to take effect on April 20 under updated regulations. As for the minimum enlistment age, it remains 18, with 17-year-olds requiring parental consent to join. Now, this change makes the film all the more believable.

The movie starring Ritchson is an action-packed sci-fi action thriller following elite Army Ranger recruits during their final training exercise as they come across one of the deadliest high-tech machines. This begins the journey of Ritchson leading this team during this trouble. And understandably, the movie has been performing well on its streaming platform.

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Ritchson’s movie claimed the top positions on Netflix after its debut.

After arriving on Netflix on March 6, War Machine began gaining strong traction on social media. It met with both criticism, as Ritchson pointed out, as well as appreciation. Soon, the film had climbed global streaming charts and eventually secured a top spot. 

It also ranked the top three behind Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man and BTS THE COMEBACK LIVE | ARIRANG. As for the critics' and fans' opinion, the movie holds a 69% Tomatometer score and a 73% audience rating on the Popcornmeter. Now, with such an impressive performance, the only question is whether a sequel is possible. 

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What do you think about this new development that Alan Ritchman pointed out? Let us know in the comments.