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James Mottram

3.5/5 stars
You can imagine soldiers must look at Hollywood war films and sigh that nothing ever really feels genuine. That is not something you can say about Warfare.
Co-written and co-directed by British writer-turned-filmmaker Alex Garland (Ex_Machina) and Ray Mendoza, this heart-pounding drama is based on Mendoza’s experiences during the Iraq War as a US Navy Seal.
Set in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006, this real-time tale sees communications officer Mendoza (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) and his team staking out a street from a run-down apartment block where a poor Iraqi family is cowering.


The goal is simple: survey the area and ensure safe passage of ground forces when they arrive the following day.
Early on the film is so quiet you can hear the characters breathe. Sniper Elliott Miller (Cosmo Jarvis, Shogun) scopes out al-Qaeda insurgents as they wander in and out of buildings across the street.
As they move out, they are hit by an improvised explosive device and all hell breaks loose. Screams and gunfire fill the air like acrid smoke as the Seals look desperately to extract themselves from this horror show.
Mendoza, who worked as military supervisor on Garland’s last film, Civil War, obviously brings a wealth of experience to Warfare. You get the impression every tactical manoeuvre each actor makes has been mapped out, cut and pasted from Mendoza and his peers’ own playbook.
Story-wise, the film is thin; it is a tale of fear, bravery, tears and terror as these men under fire look to survive at all costs.

Garland dispenses with character arcs. The closest we get to knowing the members of the gang is seeing them gawp at the aerobics class in the video for Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me” at the outset. But perhaps that is not the point.
With an impressive ensemble cast – Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton and Kit Connor all feature – this is really about embedding audiences in a full-on firefight. A recruitment video for the US army it is not.
Some will carp that there is little attempt to examine the Iraqi perspective or provide wider insight into the conflict. But again, with politics far from the minds of these casualties of war, that is not the point. Rather, this is a tribute to the courage of Mendoza and his men.

Blessed with staggering sound design by Glenn Freemantle, work that truly immerses you, Warfare has to be one of the most authentic combat movies of modern times.
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Alex Garland teams up with his military supervisor from Civil War for this survival tale based on the latter’s experience of the war in Iraq


Alex Garland teams up with his military supervisor from Civil War for this survival tale based on the latter’s experience of the war in Iraq.


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Review | Warfare movie review: Civil War director Alex Garland dives into the reality of combat

Alex Garland teams up with his military supervisor from Civil War for this survival tale based on the latter’s experience of the war in Iraq