by Jeff Alan, Contributing Writer
The hell of war is rarely displayed well on the big screen, and when it is, you’re left stunned and shocked by the level of intense visuals and sound design that it presents. Warfare is the latest film to do that. Exactly a year after his last film Civil War, writer/director Alex Garland comes back with his new film co-written and co-directed with former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza. It’s about a real-life mission during the Iraq war based entirely on the memory of all the people in the platoon.
In November of 2006 in Ramadi, Iraq, after successfully taking over a two-story home from residents as a base of operations, Navy SEAL team Alpha One monitors the activity of a nearby market for suspicious people of interest. Things take a turn quickly when the team is shellshocked by a grenade, and forced to evacuate. But their problems soon worsen, as they are surrounded by the enemy.
This is the second “war” film Garland has released in a year, but since Civil War focused more on the photojournalists than on the war elements, it’s difficult to fully regard it as a war film. However, incorporating someone like Mendoza, and including his true-life account of what happened, adds an entirely different feel to the story of Warfare. Every shot, every yell, and every action feels real.
The film features some career-best performances from its cast, all of whom are still fairly new to the limelight. Joseph Quinn, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Will Poulter are among the ones with the biggest roles, but I saw surprisingly great acting chops from Charles Melton and Michael Gandolfini, the latter of whom is currently making a splash on Daredevil: Born Again. The rest of the cast is doing a fantastic job as well, giving the same level of skill to their respective roles.
One of the things I absolutely love about this film is its sound design. I’d personally say Civil War got robbed of being nominated for at the very least Best Sound at the Oscars, but if Warfare also doesn’t get nominated for that category (among others), I am going to start questioning the Academy’s criteria. Every shot fired and explosion (one explosion in particular) fires off the screen perfectly, and this wasn’t even an IMAX viewing. Everything from the small sounds made from switching magazines in the gun to large-scale action pieces have outstanding sound attached to them.
As far as directorial debuts are concerned, Mendoza pretty much knocks this one out of the park. He and Garland are both credited as directors, but Garland has made it known that he plans on stepping back from directing for a while, so he gave Mendoza the reins for this film. But it’s obvious Mendoza — given that he was the military supervisor on Civil War and has worked as a coordinator and advisor on past military-centric films before now — needed no help creating a truly masterfully choreographed and well-planned military film.
It’s not often that a film comes out, and you actually feel like you’re there with the characters, fighting for your life. The last film I can remember doing that for me is The Hurt Locker, and the only one I can remember before that was Saving Private Ryan. I can now add Warfare to that list. You don’t just watch it; you feel like you’re there. Garland and Mendoza have made a truly wonderful movie-going experience, capturing the hellish landscape of war, and bringing out compelling performances from a group of fine young actors, all encapsulated in a tight runtime of 95 minutes.
Rating: Loved It
Warfare is currently playing in theaters
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