Emma Caroline Brown
Editor
Coming out on the heels of his 2024 attention-grabber “Civil War,” Alex Garland’s “Warfare” gives audiences a gritty, heavy-hitting dose of war in ways not seen since “Saving Private Ryan.”
In 2006, in the al-Qaeda-occupied area of Ramadi, Iraq, the Alpha One Navy SEAL platoon set up surveillance inside an apartment building to give following ground troops safe passage.
Al-Qaeda members soon massed and surrounded the building, throwing a grenade into one of Alpha One’s sniper lookouts and injuring Navy SEAL Elliot Miller, to whom “Warfare” is dedicated.
The SEALs call for a medical evacuation for Miller, which is botched when an IED explodes, further wounding Miller and other platoon members. “Warfare” follows the events of the initial mission, the botched plan and the aftermath of the attack in real-time so that the audience is flung into the unrelenting nature of modern warfare.
Poster courtesy of A24
“Warfare” was co-directed by Garland and Iraqi War veteran Ray Mendoza. Mendoza, portrayed by D’Pharoah Woon-A-Tai, served in the US military for 16 years before becoming a military advisor for filmmaking, which included working on “Civil War.”
The film is based on Mendoza and his platoon’s memories of that day—even the official tagline for “Warfare” was “Everything is Based on Memory.” However, the filmmakers hesitate to call the movie a true story and instead describe it as a reenactment of events based on the platoon members’ testimonies.
Garland and Mendoza assembled an impressive cast of Hollywood’s up-and-coming young actors to make up the Alpha One platoon, including Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, Charles Melton, Michael Gandolfini, Kit Connor and Woon-A-Tai. While some cast members may be underused, incredibly memorable performances, especially from Quinn, Jarvis and Woon-A-Tai, are delivered in the film’s tight 95-minute runtime.
Warfare’s most impressive characteristic is its sound design and mixing, which are up to par with “Dune: Part Two’s” Oscar-winning sound. The sounds of war are key to the movie’s immersive environment, as the audience not only experiences the whiz of bullets, the blast of military aircraft and the jolt of explosions but also the headspace of the soldiers.
Gunfire distorted by hearing damage, the eerie whine of disassociating from what is in front of you and the overwhelming chatter of military comms overlapping all at once further Garland and Mendoza’s mission of enveloping the viewer into the moment.
The entire tone of “Warfare” hinges on the rarely accomplished ability to know when dialogue is needed and how impactful silence truly can be. There are no memories of home, monologues, flashbacks, or breaks to other troops—just the weight of real-time ticking away as the viewer sticks it out with the soldiers waiting for an escape that may or may not come.
Most of “Warfare’s” dialogue uses military lingo, which might not resonate with the average moviegoer. However, Mendoza purposefully uses this to add another layer of realism and to connect with his fellow platoon members who were with him on that day.
An article by Time Magazine quotes Mendoza as saying he did not make “Warfare” for civilian audiences. Instead, he wants the movie to be a starting point for tackling veteran experiences that may forever go undiscussed.
“Warfare” currently has a 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- grade from Cinemascore, which makes it A24’s second-ever film to achieve this grade.
The film was produced on a smaller budget of $20 million compared to “Civil War’s” $50 million budget. As of last weekend, ‘Warfare’ had made more than $17 million at the domestic box office in two weeks, overtaking the total domestic gross of the 2009 Iraq War film “The Hurt Locker.”
Garland and Mendoza’s film has been met with criticism that “Warfare” is a reinforcement of American military propaganda. But multiple crucial moments show that war is hell for everyone, and no one can truly be a winner.
Even though Garland is going on to focus more on screenwriting than directing, he has left a memorable impression on American cinema for the past two years by making the country pause and reflect on its modern identity.
“Warfare” is one movie you do not want to miss seeing on the big screen, so check local theaters for showtimes and witness the overtaking, visceral effect of Mendoza and his platoon’s experience for yourself.