Watching Warfare feels less like viewing a film and more like being dropped right into the middle of a battlefield with no warning and no escape plan. From the opening minutes, it grabs you by the collar and holds you in the dust and noise and tension of urban warfare. There are no grand speeches, no soaring orchestras, and absolutely no moment to exhale. This is war stripped bare, and it is one of the most riveting films of the year.
Directed by Alex Garland and former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza, Warfare is a rare collaboration between a seasoned filmmaker and someone who has actually lived through the combat the movie depicts. The result is a war film that does not feel stylized or romanticized. Instead, it feels honest. It feels lived in. And more than once, it feels like too much. That’s the point.
The story unfolds over the course of a single day during the 2006 Battle of Ramadi in Iraq, following a Navy SEAL platoon as they navigate a mission in an environment where every alley could be an ambush and every second could be your last. There is no narrator to guide you, no convenient exposition to explain what is happening. You are in it with them, piecing together the mission as they move through the chaos. That disorientation is intentional. It is part of what makes the film so gripping.
The performances are deeply compelling, with an ensemble cast that includes D’Pharaoh Woon A Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, and Charles Melton. None of them are showy, which is exactly what this film demands. The characters do not feel like Hollywood heroes. They feel like real people doing an impossible job. You may not know everything about them by the end of the film, but you feel the weight of every decision they make.
One of the most powerful things about Warfare is what it chooses to leave out. There is no musical score, only the constant thrum of tension and the jarring cracks of gunfire. But what the film lacks in soundtrack, it more than makes up for with some of the most brilliant sound design I have ever heard. Every footstep, every breath, every burst of gunfire feels precise and punishing. The sound places you in the center of the action, not as a distant observer but as someone ducking behind the same wall. It is haunting, immersive, and a technical achievement that elevates the entire film.
Visually, the film is stunning in its own stripped down way. The camera work is immersive but never flashy. You feel every impact. You see the dust settle after every explosion. You begin to notice the way time stretches and contracts in high stress situations. It is an experience that is physical as much as emotional.
If there is one critique to be made, it is that the film stays so focused on the American soldiers’ experience that it misses a broader commentary on the context of the war itself. Iraqi civilians remain largely unseen and unheard, which may leave some viewers wishing for a wider lens. Still, as a character study and a psychological portrait of combat, Warfare delivers with rare clarity.
As for where you can watch it, the film is currently in theaters and well worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find. Given that A24 is behind the release, there is a strong chance Warfare will land on HBO Max in the coming months, so keep your eyes out if you prefer to stream from the safety of your couch.
In the end, Warfare is not just a film about war. It is a film about memory, about survival, and about how even the most hardened soldiers are not immune to the cost of violence. It does not try to make you feel good. It does not give you closure. It gives you something better. It gives you truth.
OUR RATING
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