Movie Review: Warfare

At the beginning of Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare, we see a platoon of Navy SEALs dancing and goofing around to the highly sexualized music video for Eric Prydz’s dance tune “Call on Me”. Aside from one other brief reference to that scene, it is the only moment of levity these men and the audience will experience for the next hour and half.

Sent on an unexplained mission into the streets of Ramadi, Iraq during the Gulf War, the group is split in two. We follow one half of the platoon as they commandeer a house during the night, forcing the residents to take shelter in a first-floor bedroom as they set up watch on the neighboring buildings. Unfortunately, they weren’t as quiet as they could have been and have attracted the attention of Iraqi militants who begin setting up to launch an attack on their location. When they strike, one of the troops is injured, leading to a Bradley tank being called in for a medevac. When the tank arrives it is also attacked, a translator is killed, and two members of the team are grievously wounded. Now stranded in the house, with the enemy closing in around them, and a pair of soldiers in agonizing pain, the platoon must reunite and try to plan a way out.

It’s a straightforward plot, but told in real time and based solely on the actual testimonies of the platoon members, including co-writer / co-director Mendoza, it packs a wallop. Few films tackle the nature of war with the raw realism of this one and it is a harrowing experience. The tension begins from the first moment we see the unit on the streets of Ramadi and doesn’t let up until the end. The resilience and mental fortitude required to endure an experience like this is mind boggling, and the viewer is left with immense respect for these troops, but also a sense of sadness that this situation was thrust upon them, extracting such a massive toll from each and for what feels like little or no purpose.

The cast is comprised of a litany of up-and-coming young talent who absolutely give these performances their all, capturing the stress of the incident while also treating each character with the respect they deserve. With such strong, lived-in acting, the real time pacing of the plot, and an unwillingness to sugarcoat the horrors of war, the movie can almost feel like a documentary. Viewers will be riveted and perhaps a little shell-shocked by the end of this masterful, brutally honest, searing, and necessary depiction of modern era warfare. ★★★★★