What are the most realistic depictions of war? Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, and Black Hawk Down are a few titles that come to mind. Warfare captures the horrors of combat, but it also explores a side of war that’s often glanced over: the calm before the storm. That’s not to say the aforementioned films don’t take their time building tension. Warfare explores its subject matter without an ounce of romanticism, however. While you can feel the sweat dripping down each Navy SEAL’s face during the first act, it’s almost tedious as we wait for something to happen.
“Tedious” usually isn’t a word studios want to feature in advertising, but it’s a compliment in this case. Although war movies are known for wall-to-wall action, there’s an authenticity to watching a soldier stretched out on a stack of mattresses, looking through his sniper scope, keeping a close eye on the house across the street. It’s not “exciting” per se, but we know all hell can break loose at any time. That said, the storm does eventually arrive. From that moment on, Warfare plunges the SEALs into nonstop chaos. Even then, Warfare doesn’t take the approach you might expect.
The film is essentially executed in real-time, letting scenes play out as if this were a documentary. It does so without trying to show off with oners or resorting to excessive shaky cam. The absence of a musical score allows the earthshaking sound design to creep in from every angle of the theater. Warfare is worth seeing in IMAX just for the surround sound, which practically engulfs the audience in combat. While the film benefits from the massive IMAX screen, the scope is smaller than it seems. Most of the plot takes place around an Iraqi household belonging to an innocent family caught in the middle. Yet, that home contains a world of pain, panic, and disorientation that never seems to end.
Warfare is co-director Alex Garland’s follow-up to last year’s Civil War. While Garland demonstrated his knack for shooting intense action in both films, Warfare is the antithesis of Civil War in some respects. One film was about a fictional war while this one takes place during the Iraq War. Civil War is full of memorable lines while the dialogue in Warfare primarily consists of screams. Warfare doesn’t have as many distinct characters as Civil War. However, the soldiers here feel more like real people. That’s because they’re all based on actual figures.
Garland directed Warfare with Ray Mendoza, who based the film on his experiences as a SEAL. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai of Reservation Dogs portrays Mendoza in a cast that includes Will Poulter, Kit Connor, Joseph Quinn, and Cosmo Jarvis, to name a few. While we don’t get to know many of the SEALs as individuals, we immediately sense their comradery. That’s all we need in a film like Warfare, which is simply about humanity. We don’t need to know these people intimately. Wanting to see them survive is instinctual.
For all the ways Warfare is dissimilar to Civil War, both films are surprisingly apolitical. One could argue that Warfare is an anti-war film. Despite everything the characters endure, it doesn’t feel like a ton was accomplished, serving as a blunt reminder that the Iraq War could’ve been easily avoided. At the same time, someone else might see this as a pro-military movie, revealing what soldiers boldly risk without asking questions. The filmmakers aren’t interested in taking sides, however. Mendoza just sets out to unpack what he and his brothers-in-arms went through. Garland is the ideal collaborator to recreate Mendoza’s memories.