It’s an obligatory statement that I’ve mentioned before, but needs to be mentioned again. I have seen many war films. Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, and Jarhead to name a few. All of these have one thing in common, they are considered the best of their sub-genre of war films. Most people I’ve talked to say these are considered the best examples of what the most realistic war movies are. I have another one to add to the list, Warfare. This is an incredible war film and filmgoing experience. 

The story is based on the true events which is written/directed by Ray Mendoza documenting his experience during the Iraq war at the Battle of Ramadi. As a US Navy Seal he and a group of soldiers were tasked with going through enemy insurgence territory in November of 2006. His team were caught in the middle of a fight for survival at this time and place in history. This film is mostly based on their memories of the situation. This was a well documented story. How it was told in the form of using IMAX cameras made it come across that much better.

One of the things that made this filmgoing experience as good as it was was the incredible ensemble cast of fantastic up and coming or recently established young actors. Will Poulter (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3), Charles Melton (May, December), Michael Gandolfini (The Many Saints of Newark), Joseph Quinn (Gladiator 2) and Cosmo Jarvis (The Alto Knights) just to name a handful. It was like a who’s who of younger actors I’ve watched blossom over the last few years. These guys and many others all brought the heat literally and figuratively, because there were many explosions and gunfire. 

There were a few things besides what I’ve already mentioned that stood out to me in this war movie. The first being is the code language the men used to communicate and try to keep the insurgence from knowing what they are saying while they were being surrounded by them. The second is the movements they used to get from one location in the buildings or street they were on. These movements were very calculated and had a meticulous way about them. I was mesmerized by the language and movements during the film. I felt this was so realistically shown in the movie. 

The third thing that made me jump or react quite a bit was the sound design throughout the film. Without spoiling anything, one specific moment in the movie, close to the middle of the film, had me jump out of my seat because of how shocking it was. Add in the rest of the gunfire going on during the rest of the film and you have an instant contender for sound design at next year’s Academy Awards. Combined with the IMAX cameras this sound design was like I was actually in war. I am still blown away by how realistic this was.

There have been movies where the real people involved in the story were involved in some aspect of the film. More often than not they didn’t turn out so great. This time around is a different story. Ray Mendoz with the help of seasoned director in his own right Alex Garland has crafted an incredibly visceral experience with much violence, blood and guts, and intensity. Garland has a little experience himself in this regard because he made Civil War that came out last year. The sound design and action were captured very well in that film as well. Together they make a great team. I hope these two work together again on something similar to this in the future.

Warfare is the most realistic war film I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a few of them. I felt like I was in a gunfight with these men. The communication and movements felt so real to me. It was uncanny how these men looked and felt like they were actually soldiers. I didn’t feel like I was watching a war film, but that I was actually involved in what was going on. I jumped out of my seat at one point at how loud the movie was. I would say the test of how this film will be judged or not will be actual soldiers who experienced these types of situations. This is a specific moment in time and I think many men and women who went through similar situations will agree with me on the magnitude of what they are watching. Leave it to A24 to take another genre and make it their own once again. This is a monumental achievement by Mendoza and company.

5 stars

Dan Skip Allen