Film Review: Warfare

Welcome back to the blog readers. War films are some that can come under a whole lot of scrutiny for a myriad of reasons. Some can be chastised as being too pro-war, some can be claimed to represent anti-government views, but not many of them really represent the true horrors of war. This is one of those films that has been highlighted on my calendar ever since I heard of it, because I was hooked based on who was involved in the making of the film. Would this film be a worthy addition to the war film genre? Stick around to find out.

Warfare was written and directed by Alex Garland and former U.S. Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza, based on his and his platoon's experiences in the Iraq War. The film stars D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mendoza, along with Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Michael Gandolfini, and Noah Centineo. The film is a reenactment of an incident that took place on November 19, 2006 in the wake of the Battle of Ramadi, using only the testimonies of Mendoza and his platoon to maintain historical accuracy, and presented in real time following the title drop.

I had heard the glowing reviews that this film was getting, calling it jarring, uncomfortable, and visceral. This got me very excited, especially because with the releases of Drop and The Amateur (both 2025) this weekend, this weekend was highlighted on my calendar. Being the final of the three films I saw, I have to say not only is this the best film of the three, this is the best film of the year so far (and I am not exaggerating at all). I felt all of those things I mentioned above, plus the cast may just get themselves some accolades come awards season.

I really cannot single any one person out from this cast because I believe they all deliver career-best performances. Will Poulter is already a great actor, but his performance here is definitely a career highlight for me. Kit Connor has only really done projects like Heartstopper (2022-) and The Wild Robot (2024), but this is him growing up and experiencing real terror. Cosmo Jarvis burst on to the scene in Shōgun (2024-), but he gives a shockingly real and terrifying performance. But my god, I did not expect to see our Eddie Munson and future Johnny Storm Joseph Quinn deliver the heart-shattering performance he gives. Some people agree that it may be award-worthy and I agree. But I think we have our first frontrunner for the first ever Best Casting Oscar.

The next thing I need to talk about is the sound design on this film. Yeah, I agree that there are films that really elevate the sound design in order to elicit an emotion from the audience. But the sound design in this film is on a whole other level. It is loud, so loud in fact that it borderline made me uncomfortable in a lot of places. And I mean that in only the best way. An explosion literally made me jump out of my seat because of how loud and uncomfortable it made me feel, and I love films that can give me this ethereal sense of self. The show of force literally made the hair on my arms stand up, and that shit happened three times. Whenever a gun was fired, it felt like I was right next to the person pulling the trigger. It is insane what the filmmakers did with this. I expect a Best Sound Oscar in the near future.

Next up is the main man behind the film, and that is Ray Mendoza. The former Navy SEAL joined the service in 1997 and served for 16 years. When he got out, he got the itch to get into film, and made his acting debut in the film Act of Valor (2012). He also served as the technical and military advisor for films such as Lone Survivor (2014), The Outpost (2019), and Civil War (2024). Mendoza actually interviewed his former platoon members and gave this material to Garland, and the two of them collaborated on the script. I think this option was for the best because you cannot get any more real then using the testimonies from people who were actually there in the action. It makes it that much more authentic and heart-shattering, especially when you see limbs not connected to bodies and people screaming out in pain. It is very possible this film gets an Original Screenplay nod at the Oscars.

And finally, I want to talk about the cinematography of this film. Saying this film is beautifully shot kind of is a major underselling of the film in a way because it may seem like it is anything but. There are moments when the cinematography is very clean and very polished to give it that Hollywood feel, but when the switch is flipped and we see exactly what is going on, the facade is dropped and it can get chaotic very quickly. So when David J. Thompson gets up and close to the actors, it really adds to that visceral nature of the film because you feel as if you are there amongst the carnage because of how frantically it is shot.

Before I go, I want to talk about how there are people online actively calling this film propaganda. My question is do you actually know what the definition of propaganda is? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, propaganda is defined to be "the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, cause, or a person." What part of this film is pushing an agenda? If anything, the only "agenda" getting pushed is that war is terrible, no matter who is fighting in it, and it can be very violent. This is an anti-war film through and through. Walking out of my theater I wanted to never get in that uniform and never be shipped somewhere like that because I do not want my leg getting blown off and dying at the snap of a finger.

In conclusion, Warfare is a harrowing look at war driven by stellar performances and a visceral experience I never want to have again. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.