‘Warfare’ Review: A Visceral Cinematic Experience

Dispel any preconceptions of righteous heroes fighting for a noble cause against a decidedly evil enemy. Warfare isn’t like the D-Day battle against the Nazis à la Saving Private Ryan. It’s even more savage and unsparing. Ray Mendoza, a former Navy SEAL and JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller), a soldier who directs military air support, collaborates with British filmmaker Alex Garland to tell the highly personal, true story of a bloody battle that nearly killed him and caused horrendous casualties to his dear comrades. It is a nuts-and-bolts account of ferocious combat, bloody, brutal, and terrifying. Warfare will absolutely floor you.

In 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq, a platoon of Navy SEALs stealthily proceeds to their target in the dark of night. They move in precision formation, covering every angle of attack. Potential enemies are everywhere in a hotbed of insurgents. Erik (Will Poulter), the officer in charge of the operation, motions to prepare to breach. They’ve reached their destination, a two-story brick house on a completely unremarkable block.

‘Warfare’ Is Brutal in Every Regard

Warfare

4
/5

Release Date

April 11, 2025

Runtime

96 minutes

Pros & Cons

• A gruesome and unsparing portrayal of bloody combat.
• Superb sound editing and visual effects enhance realism.
• An anti-war film that pulls no punches.

• Characters have little exposition.
• The lack of a three-act structure may be confusing.

The SEALs and their Iraqi interpreters enter the house with nary a peep to announce their presence. They are well-trained and know how to execute incursions efficiently. A family, sound asleep in their beds, are horrified to wake up to machine guns in their faces. The interpreters instruct them to be quiet, show their hands, and don’t move a muscle. The SEALs then proceed upstairs to find an unexpected obstacle. It is the first sign that things won’t go according to plan.

Daylight breaks with the platoon split into different positions. Elliot (Cosmo Jarvis), their lead sniper, sweats profusely as he watches people amble at a market through a hole in a room wall. The locals must be aware of their presence. They’re starting to act suspiciously, but he doesn’t see their primary target. Ray (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) gets an update from a fighter jet circling above. Men are closing on their position. Suddenly, speakers normally used for the call to prayers have a different message. The interpreters race to alert Erik. They are calling for jihad against the invaders.

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Constant Action and No Escape

Warfare is a visceral cinematic experience that gets granular in every regard. Mendoza and Garland aren’t trying to entertain via a three-act structure. The operation is the film from start to finish. There’s very little exposition identifying the characters and expressly stating the mission objectives. We’re watching them logistically communicate with each other, support personnel, and aircraft in near real time. It’s all business when their lives are at stake. There’s no jocularity or idle conversation. Everyone has something to do.

To say the sh*t hits the fan is a vast understatement. The SEALs are hit with a blistering assault on all sides from concealed attackers. Erik’s efforts to rally an escape in armored vehicles is an expected move. The enemy, at this point in the Iraq War, had proven strategies against American military might. This levels the playing field and leaves the SEALs under siege in an even worse predicament. The house becomes the only refuge but can only hold for so long with enemies advancing.

An Anti-War Film (If That’s Possible)

Mendoza and Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation, Civil War) get top marks for their disturbing production design. Warfare takes methodical steps to ensure the audience understands what each character is doing as the battle devolves. Their gear, its purpose, and radio communications are known as they struggle to respond while caring for the wounded. For example, they can’t just drop everything and make a run for it. It seems insane to race into the street to recover weaponry lost in the ambush, but they had to make sure those guns couldn’t be used against them.

Warfare twists the knife with gut-wrenching scenes of the injured screaming from devastating wounds. Ray and the survivors must try to stop them from bleeding out while continuously repelling the attackers. The film’s graphic second act pulls no punches with battlefield triage under extreme duress. Ray shaking violently and trying to calm his nerves while trying to apply a tourniquet encapsulates the dire moment. Get it together or lose your brother. There’s no time for second guessing when a spurting artery could mean seconds from death.

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Warfare’s sound editing and visual effects are pivotal in illustrating how the body reacts in combat. Imagine having a grenade explode nearby. You’re shielded from the initial blast but are shell-shocked by the concussion wave and deafened from the noise. Erik loses focus, can’t concentrate, and needs help stabilizing himself in a critical moment, but he’s in charge. What happens to the others on the front lines with no guidance under a barrage of bullets? This scenario defines the fog of war. Situational uncertainty can spell doom for all. Your heart will swell with pride in our armed forces as another soldier rallies the troops and takes control. The next man in the chain of command must always be ready.

Mendoza and Garland make an ugly point without directly stating it. Why did these brave men, their interpreters, and the innocent family stuck in the middle, have to go through Hell incarnate? Did they change the tide of the Iraq War? Was their mission worth the loss of life? The damning answer is an unequivocal no. The filmmakers show the unvarnished truth. We cannot send our young men to die and kill without clear reasons and objectives. Warfare is an anti-war film in every frame. Warfare is a production of DNA Films. It will be released theatrically on April 11 from A24.