 |
| Images courtesy A24 |
Alex Garland swiftly shifts focus from dystopian societies and top tier science fiction to the realm of modern military horror with the release of Warfare. Paired with director Ray Mendoza, the film is a snapshot into the nightmare scenarios that face our men in uniform and a blink of an eye moment in time where they must face their own mortality.
Based on a real-life mission gone wrong in Ramadi during the Iraq War, a group of Navy SEALS are trapped in a city under siege as their enemies continue to surround them. When their rescue goes awry, they must find a way to survive against all costs as they await another strike team to pull them from the ashes of hell. Garland once again proves that he has a handle on creating amazing characters, even with little to no detail. His sense of realism was catapulted with Civil War. With his latest work, he further proves his worth as one of the best directors working today. Albeit, his proposed last film behind the camera as he shifts from directorial duties to strictly writing.
Warfare isn't a dramatic character study. It's a short-run, real time look at the violence and bloodshed of war. The film is a claustrophobic, tension laced immersive experience that never lets up. From the first seconds, Garland and Mendoza's movie sets us up for a much smaller Black Hawk Down scenario with absolute attention to detail. The gun play is hyper realistic. The limited action is well planned and grounded. And the interplay between actors is undoubtedly gripping. We've seen much of this before. However, Garland and Mendoza bring something fresh to the world of military dramas. Warfare makes you feel as if you're in the center of the room, experiencing it all for yourself. It's anxiety inducing.
Where so many military films give you one central character to focus on or the one primary hero, their goal here is to make you understand that all these men are, in fact, heroes. No member of the team does anything without the express consent that they're doing these things to support each other. The mentality behind their bravery is on full display, keeping Warfare perfectly based and rendered in our real world. When things happen, they happen for a reason. Without any hesitation, Warfare is a movie that needed to happen to change the playing field. It's one of those releases that may just redefine an entire genre. The last film that even came close to this was Guy Ritchie's The Covenant (2023).
Warfare is not entertainment. It's a gut wrenching inside look at what these men and women go through as members of the armed services. The film pays tribute to them in a fitting way without exploiting their choice to serve and shows them as humans experiencing days and nights of pure terror, all in the name of freedom. Garland and Mendoza steer clear of politics this time around, which was another smart move on their part. The focus is not who they're fighting for or against and why, but more so a true look inside the methods of combat. This one is a juggernaut at just over ninety minutes.
-CG