Warfare

Warfare

A Brutal, Invisible Seat in Modern Conflict

★★★☆☆

A stunning achievement in military accuracy that prioritizes visceral realism over story.

Directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, Warfare is a stunning and brutal procedural look into a modern-day military battle and evacuation. The film drops the viewers mercilessly into a conflict almost like an invisible participant. Shot with an eye towards accuracy and authenticity, no expense is spared to maintain realism. There is very little time spent on setting up characters or scenarios; the audience is forced to get up to speed on the fly.

"Warfare is a stunning achievement and deserves admiration as the new standard bearer for military combat accuracy on film."

— Ray Manukay

🎬 Cast & Crew

• Directors: Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza
• Starring: D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis
• Supporting: Kit Connor, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton
• Military Consultant: Ray Mendoza (Co-Director)

The Vision

The film’s greatest strength is its documentary-like feel, achieved without the crutch of narration. While there isn't much to the story besides survival, Warfare still manages to tug at the heartstrings as we sympathize with the team's dilemma as they try to overcome some terrible odds. At 1 hour and 34 minutes, the pacing is lean, yet some sequences feel torturously long as we wait alongside the soldiers for a way out.

🎬 Cinephile Fun Facts

• A24 Collaboration: This marks another high-profile collaboration between Alex Garland and A24 following Civil War.
• Authenticity First: Co-director Ray Mendoza is a former Navy SEAL, ensuring the "procedural" elements of the combat are as accurate as possible.
• Saving Private Ryan Parallels: Critics have noted the violence is on full display with an authenticity not seen since the opening of Spielberg's 1998 masterpiece.

✅ Pros

• Unmatched military accuracy and technical re-enactment.
• Immersive "invisible participant" camera work.
• Excellent, grounded performances from the ensemble cast.

❌ Cons

• Extremely minimal character development or backstory.
• Bloody brutality may be too intense for the faint of heart.
• Focus on procedure over traditional narrative structure.

🏆 Final Verdict

Warfare is not for the faint of heart, but for those seeking an idea of what modern-day military combat is like from the comfort of a theater, look no further. Be in the right frame of mind; this is the new standard-bearer for the genre.

View original review on Letterboxd