WARFARE (2025) review
written by: Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland
produced by: Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Matthew Penry-Davey, and Peter Rice
directed by: Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland
rated: R (for intense war violence and bloody/grisly images, and language throughout)
runtime: 95 min.
U.S. release date: April 11, 2025
Last year, English writer/director Alex Garland dropped “Civil War,” a dystopian thriller showing a divided United States, and this summer, he’ll reteam with Danny Boyle for “28 Years Later” the much-anticipated continuation of the post-apocalyptic thriller they started 23 years ago. But, before that, Garland brings us “Warfare,” a realistic war film from the recent past written and directed with Ray Mendoza (a decorated U.S. Navy SEAL who served as a military advisor on “Civil War”), who draws upon his own platoon experience with a raw authenticity that’s quite often utterly disturbing and profoundly challenging to watch. There’s no jingoism in this troubling tale of survival that feels like an unrelenting assault on the senses. It may be too much for some, but this impressive immersion into the tension and trauma of military service is exactly something that needs to be seen on the big screen by as many people as possible.
The story occurs in November 2006 in Iraq’s Anbar Province, nearing the end of the Battle of Ramadi, which began that year in March. The Alpha One platoon is positioned in a two-story apartment that monitors a neighborhood market for possible Al-Queda insurgents. The platoon is comprised of communications officer Ray (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), Officer in Charge Erik (Will Poulter), lead sniper Elliot (Cosmo Jarvis), lead Petty Officer Sam (Joseph Quinn), LT Macdonald (Michael Gandolfini), and sniper Frank (John Taylor Smith). They work quickly to claim the location during the cover of night (with a sledgehammer for a key) from a family residing inside, setting themselves up with the assistance of their translators, Farid (Nathan Altai) and Noor (Donya Huseen). After much waiting and watching, Elliot spots some suspicious movement brewing nearby and coming their way. Just before Erik calls his superiors for aid, violence erupts from all sides, cornering the SEALS as attacks from gunfire, grenades, and IEDs are unleashed. As they try different tactics and positions, they also take some significant hits, specifically Elliot and Sam, who are left writhing in agony as their disoriented comrades do what they can to tend to them amid the chaos.
Mendoza and Garland open “Warfare” with a close-up of sweaty, gyrating women in workout gear to the music of Eric Prydz’s “Call Me.” At first, it seems like cutting room floor footage from “The Substance,” but then the camera pulls out and swings around, and we realize it’s a group of military men huddled around a television. The introduction has nothing to do with war, but rather the camaraderie and bonding that comes from training and fighting alongside each other. It immediately finds us engaged with these men as they display humorous banter before the contrast of imminent danger comes.
Once they are in position, there is a stillness that sets the pre-battle mood, where rising temperatures and sweaty brows are prominent as these trained men await uncertainty. This early silence is just as thick as the eventual fog of war, a necessary approach that establishes the setting and sense of rising tension. It’s a challenge at first to distinguish the characters in the platoon, considering how bogged down they are in gear and weaponry, seldom talking, and when they do, it’s in whispers or under their breath quips.
The second act comes quickly when a grenade is lobbed into the apartment window of the upper floor where the snipers are positioned. The smoke and confusion from the blast commence the real-time battle between the SEALS and predominately unseen opponents. The mission goes sideways pretty fast when Erik and Ray realize how cornered and outnumbered they are. When the team scrambles to move their injured to a Bradley tank that pulls up, they are obliterated by a detonated IED. This catastrophe kills the translators, leaves Elliot and Sam’s legs shredded, and finds Erik debilitated with shell shock. By the time the Alpha Two group arrives to help, their Officer in Charge, Jake (Charles Melton), must take command of the desperate and bloody situation as they call for more Bradleys to arrive and rescue them.
The action in “Warfare” is mired in distress and agony as the SEALS are tested at every level. It’s a visceral depiction of combat that prefers authentic intensity over a glossy sheen. There’s no time for patriotism here and while courage is a given it’s also overwhelmed by the need to either do something immediately or the unexpected paralyzing wave of fear. Again, it’s a tough watch, yet at no point is the graphic violence gratuitous, but it rather perpetuates full immersion that dares us to look away, and some may have to.
The sound design is everything and everywhere in “Warfare,” and that’s not just because there’s no score. From the whiz of bullets to concussive blasts to the deafening screams of wounded warriors, it all builds to an unforgettable aural experience. I was reminded of the first times I saw “Platoon” or “Saving Private Ryan,” but those movies offered more time for viewers to get to know the characters and their stories that occurred in different places. By remaining in one location (an entire village was built on a London soundstage), Mendoza and Garland enhance the panic and claustrophobic tone, providing the outstanding cast an environment to truly convey their situation’s heightened emotions and bravery.
Undoubtedly, some viewers may feel that Mendoza and Garland do very little to humanize the Iraqi insurgents, whether they be local villagers or those firing upon the Americans. To that, I will point out the film’s poster, which says, “Everything is Based on Memory.” Knowing that one can understand how Mendoza felt he absolutely had to tell his and his combat brethren’s story.
RATING: ****
