Warfare: Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza lead Will Poulter and Charles Melton into battle

After conjuring up a nightmarish vision of a possible future conflict with last year’s Civil War, director Alex Garland’s latest film, Warfare, takes viewers back to the frontlines of a very real, not-so-distant fight — the Iraq War, circa 2006. It’s both a tribute to the bravery shown in the face of battle by a group of young Navy SEALs and a brutal slog that immerses audiences into the gritty reality of war, viscera and all.

Co-written and co-directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, an Iraq War veteran, Warfare starts off as a normal day for a group of Navy SEALs, as they relax and watch music videos for fun before scouting out into enemy territory for a stake-out to ensure another troop’s safety. Only it quickly becomes clear this isn’t a typical day. Worrisome sightings of local men looking in their hidden direction quickly become a warning of things to come. Soon, unseen assailants throw grenades and shoot in their direction. After one of their own, Elliot (Cosmo Jarvis), is hurt, the group of Navy SEALs led by Erik (Will Poulter) attempt to evacuate him, only to be hit by an IED, leaving more severely wounded and the rest of them in shock. It looks like time is running out as more enemy combatants circle their position and backup is several long minutes away. 

Warfare reconstructs battleground reality from the memories of those who experienced it.

Credit: Murray Close / A24

Warfare is based on Mendoza’s own memories of a specific ordeal during his tour of duty in Iraq. Through interviews with other members of his troop, Mendoza and Garland pieced together a snapshot of war from different perspectives into one narrative timeline of events, as if the audience were shadowing this troop through their mission gone awry. Even with an ensemble who might look the same under their fatigues, helmets, and tactical gear, they each have a position to hold and a role to play. Eventually, a few main characters emerge, with personalities that shine through in a time of crisis. Cinematographer David J. Thompson’s camera floats through the cramped and crowded space of the stake-out, alternating the view from different perspectives. 

One of the first standout characters is Jarvis’ character, Elliot, a cocky sniper who’s injured early on before surviving an even deadlier explosion that nearly claims his life. A young Mendoza (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Reservation Dogs), risks his life to bring Elliot out of harm’s way in the hopes he might be saved. The movie version of Mendoza is a scrappy communication officer whose gear looks bigger than he is, but he emerges as one of the fearless warriors, caring for his fallen comrade as others try desperately to defend the post. Although Erik begins the movie as a steady leader for his team, the carnage left behind by the IED leaves him shaken and needing another’s help. Once the first wave of relief arrives, Jake (Charles Melton) steps in as an officer in charge to start calling the shots and rally the wounded troops back to safety. The cast also includes Taylor John Smith, Joseph Quinn, Noah Centineo, Michael Gandolfini, Kit Connor, and Evan Holtzman.

Mendoza, who previously collaborated with Garland on developing the battle scenes for Civil War, meticulously recreates both the chaos and order these men lived through. Thompson captures the fear and pain on the faces of the young cast but also their resolute determination to survive; there are plenty of wide-eyed stares and clenched jaws as they endure rounds and rounds of bullets. The goal of Warfare is accuracy, not a romanticized or sanitized version of war but immersing audiences into the heart of the maelstrom — the details that don’t always make it to the brief dispatches on a nightly news broadcast, the memories not all veterans feel comfortable discussing. 

The in-the-moment story leaves no room for the bigger picture.

War movies have always been a part of cinema history. The first-ever Oscar winner was the 1927 film Wings, which follows a romance through the trials of the first World War. The original 1930 version of All Quiet on the Western Front also tried to show the grim details and mental toll war takes on soldiers. During the Vietnam War and after the collapse of the Hays Production Code in the late 1960s, filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola and Stanley Kubrick were able to examine the brutality of war with movies like Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket. While these films critiqued the loss of life and innocence, there were always movies that immortalized various real-life incidents throughout U.S. military history for rousing patriotic entertainment, such as Black Hawk Down and 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

In these more nationalistic visions, it’s a very clear case of “us versus them,” rooting for the men under our flag and damn the rest. There’s little to no context for why these young men ended up in such a precarious position that risked their life and limb; no attempt to explain the politics that led them to that fateful day. War is just a part of life, a product of its time.

At a rapid-fire 95 minutes, Warfare covers just that one moment in all its excruciating detail. While the no-holds-barred honesty of injury and danger can feel overwhelming, in a sense, the film still functions like a traditional war movie in its “us versus them” approach. There’s little consideration given to the Iraqi residents whose home is taken over by the Navy SEALs and nearly leveled by the end, or the Iraqi interpreters working with the team who end up becoming gruesome cannon fodder when the IED drops. Far from a nuanced story, Warfare hits viewers square in the face with violence and little else. I didn’t properly time it, but it felt like a third of the movie’s runtime featured someone screaming for help or in pain. I winced at the sight of limbs dangling like broken dolls, soaked beet-red from blood. 

War is hell, and if you had any other such notions, Warfare should help set the record straight. But is that all there is? Maybe I missed some meaning behind the nerve-shattering brutality. Warfare might be so honest as to work as an anti-recruitment film, combatting the polished ads the armed forces like to run during sports broadcasts. While it’s admirable Mendoza and Garland stitch together this agonizing portrait of the perils of war, its demands on young soldiers, and the merciless reality of combat, I was unsure how to feel about it. It doesn’t deliver the rah-rah patriotic highs nor does it critique the Iraq War that led them to that day. After the film ends, there’s behind-the-scenes footage of Mendoza and Garland with many of the veterans who survived the ordeal, revisiting their past in a recreated set hundreds of miles away from where they almost met their end. Maybe there can be healing in revisiting the not-too-distant past for these vets, but Warfare doesn’t offer the same catharsis for civilian viewers. 

Warfare opens nationwide April 11.