Warfare, 2025.
Written and Directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland.
Starring D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Noah Centineo, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Finn Bennett, Henry Zaga, Adain Bradley, Alex Brockdorff, Evan Holtzman, Aaron Mackenzie, Joe Macaulay, Laurie Duncan, Jake Lampert, Aaron Deakins, Heider Ali, Sima Pollitt, Nathan Altai, Aso Sherabayani, Amira Dutton, and Inbal Amram.
SYNOPSIS:
A platoon of Navy SEALs embark on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq, with the chaos and brotherhood of war retold through their memories of the event.
Iraq Navy SEALs veteran and co-director Ray Mendoza isn’t using Warfare to tell a conventional war narrative. Collaborating with Civil War director Alex Garland (whom he met working as a military consultant on that film, subsequently choosing him to help bring this relentlessly hellish experience to life on the artistic, cinematic visionary side), this is the recreation of a traumatic event in the field that is specifically and solely pulled from memories, tapped into here in such a visceral, authentic, grotesquely detailed manner that there is no chance it could come from Alex Garland himself or any filmmaker. It’s also a key distinction from the usual “inspired by a true story” pre-movie text, as every moment here comes from someone’s squadmate-checked memory to deliver a characteristically minimalistic take.
It’s a bold, potentially self-destructive move to free a film like this from standard characterization and familiar storytelling arcs, but Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland trust that the exciting ensemble of mostly rising names will find the emotional truths amidst the relentless chaos. Comprised of soldiers mostly indistinguishable from one to the next (Will Poulter being the most facially recognizable actor of them all, although some will no doubt notice recent breakout actors Charles Melton and Joseph Quinn, with the seven people who went to see The Alto Knights maybe catching onto Cosmo Jarvis), there is a wealth of humanity and honesty ringing from them whether it’s mildly goofing off during the monotonous stakeout before the situation goes FUBAR, ear-piercingly pained screams from the severely wounded, or sentiments of believable brotherhood fighting to protect one another and carry the injured to safety.
This is not jingoistic hoo-rah celebratory murder, though. Obviously, the Navy SEALs stationed and pinned down this home circa 2006 await backup and rescue while pushing and firing back against Al Qaeda when the time was right strategically, but Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland have gone to admirable, respectful lengths to solely keep the bloodshed and graphic injury limited to the Navy SEALs. Even though it’s not gunning for grand political statements, it’s also subtly aware that this destruction and war bring unimaginable pain and tragedy among Iraq’s citizens, occasionally checking in on a family held up in the home without misguidedly crossing into emotional manipulation.
The brunt of that injury and trauma comes from a blown-up but still breathing Eliott (Cosmo Jarvis under heavy, disturbingly graphic makeup on his face and legs), who is primarily tended to by seemingly inexperienced comms guy Ray (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, perfectly expressing in-over-his-head shellshock) handling the horror with bravery amidst frayed nerves and loud sounds coming from every direction (screams, bullets, aircraft whizzing by low to the ground, explosions, and general chatter regarding details of their rescue). David J. Thompson’s sharp photography not only captures harrowing sights of injured soldiers and close-ups of terrified soldiers, pulses pounding contemplating how to react in any given moment quickly, but also ensures the warfare is cleanly shot with no questions or reservations on the positioning of everyone.
As mentioned, the astonishing level of detail and authenticity arguably intensifies Warfare the most; there is a gory yet innovative use for a tourniquet, and even a gallows-humor laugh snuck in there involving some morphine. It stems from how rattled these soldiers are, which convincingly comes from a booming sound mix aware of one to go nearly headache-inducing loud and silent, typically conveying the audible aftermath of an explosion or concussion. Warfare is a full-on, stunning sensory overload of heart-pounding immersion. The result is a memory for audiences that likely won’t be forgotten.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
