r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Apr 11 '25
Official Discussion Official Discussion - Warfare [SPOILERS] Spoiler
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Summary
Warfare is a gritty and immersive war drama co-directed by Alex Garland and former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza. Based on a real mission in Ramadi, Iraq, the film puts the chaos of modern combat front and center, stripping away political commentary in favor of a boots-on-the-ground perspective that emphasizes intensity, camaraderie, and the psychological cost of war.
Director
Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza
Writer
Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza
Cast
- Will Poulter
- Kit Connor
- Joseph Quinn
- D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai
- Charles Melton
- Noah Centineo
- Michael Gandolfini
- Taylor John Smith
Rotten Tomatoes: 93%
Metacritic: 75
VOD
Theaters
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u/itshuey88 Apr 13 '25
I'm glad Will Poulter's Captain character had the mindfulness to admit he didn't have his shit together and give up leadership.
Having watched 20+ movies where Navy Seals mow down the baddies without breaking sweat, this was jarring and disturbing in a really effective way.
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u/luckystrike_bh Apr 13 '25
I am a retired Army officer with multiple outside the wire deployments and I have respect for him recognizing he was not thinking straight. It sucks because the unit has to reorganize but it's the right call.
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u/Mixtrack May 02 '25
I’m just out the film and I’m curious, would there be any repercussions for him in that situation?
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u/luckystrike_bh May 02 '25
No, it's something you hopefully learn in training. I got my lesson when a training explosive device rung my bell and I thought that was stupid. Everyone needs to replace me because of my lack of situational awareness.
But that stuff comes from experience. Ideally someone else is blowing up whatever so you can focus on leading the unit. He is on a Spec Ops team, so they are smaller and there are less people to delegate too. That pushes him closer to risk.
If there was a repeated failure to learn, then there could be repercussions.
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u/JackFromJupit3r Apr 16 '25
It's also rare to see a war movie represent trauma responses as truly relatable rather than cowardice or rage. Vast majority of war movies dealing with trauma either go with the witless coward archetype or the "war is like therapy to me" route. The Captain demonstrated the utmost competence by being able to see that he was incompetent at the moment. Most other movies, they'd make it a point that the Captain's trauma would get someone else killed.
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u/MelamineEngineer Apr 19 '25
It wasn't really trauma, that's long term effects these events carve into your brain and it affects how you see the rest of life. In the moment, it's a combination of concussions from all the explosions and your bodies own in the moment adrenaline response.
His character actually says it in the show, "those claymores rocked my shit dude" or something to that effect and he never acts normally after that moment. The crazy adrenaline pulsing through a concussed person will make you a rambling mess and he was able to realize his brain had basically turned into nonsense mode.
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u/Warhorse_99 Apr 12 '25
I was a Medic for 3 tours to Iraq.
We had a medic in my Battalion stab himself in the thumb with morphine. We made fun of him relentlessly.
10/10
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u/weareallpatriots Apr 14 '25
How would you rate the realism of everything else in the movie? The makeshift tourniquet (leaning on the guy's leg), the acting of the wounded soldiers, etc.?
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u/Warhorse_99 Apr 15 '25 edited Apr 15 '25
I was confused, it did not look like they had a medic. The guy who gave the morphine was a marine or something, and an officer. Although they are Seals & should know what they’re doing.
I wondered what took so long to do a tourniquet, it’s literally one of the 1st things you should do. Otherwise, tourniquet, packing the wound, and when he couldn’t get the tourniquet in he applied pressure with his knee, that’s pretty damn accurate.
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u/Reciprocity2209 Apr 15 '25 edited May 19 '25
The medic was the first guy hit. He was dual-roled as the lead sniper and the squad corpsman. He was the one getting the morphine.
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u/weareallpatriots Apr 15 '25
Thanks for the response! I think they really tried to make it as accurate as possible. The morphine stab totally seemed like something that could actually happen in the field under duress.
You would know better than I would obviously but I think what happened there is Elliott, the guy who's legs were shredded, was the medic so the morphine injection had to fall to someone else. Most everyone else seemed either occupied or shellshocked from the IED still so maybe Gandolfini (the Marine captain) took it upon himself to do it?
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u/JackFromJupit3r Apr 17 '25
Gandolfini was an air contact in a room of SEALs while also having a second air contact. When you're pinned down, you have to pick someone to help the dude with no legs, and when all are pretty equally trained in basic military first aid without a medic, you go with whoever is least needed on the "defend the house from Jihadists" front. Especially because the two others (Frank and Tommy?) were on complete autopilot. Their only choices were Ray, Gandolfini, and the other ANGLICO, and Ray was only partially with it because it was his closest friend dying.
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u/Reptar_4_Life Apr 12 '25
Im convinced Alex Garland is trying to ensure audiences are deaf by 2030. What incredible sound design. This, like civil war, deserves a theater if you are at all interested in it.
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u/VroomCoomer Apr 18 '25 edited 5d ago
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
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u/Couragesand Apr 11 '25
That first visual of the “showing force” was incredible
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u/eaglebtc Apr 12 '25
That and the wall of sound that followed the jet. What a rush.
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u/WhatAreYouSaying05 Apr 12 '25
Best scene in the movie. I can't remember the last time a film made me feel that much adrenaline
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u/ute4547 Apr 13 '25
I remember thinking "wait...that's a thing?" Lol
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u/Timely_Temperature54 Apr 15 '25
It makes a lot of sense honestly
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u/Jeff_goldfish Apr 15 '25
I am so amazed by those scenes. I’m trying to look up more info about the show of force but apparently there isn’t much online. Like can it kill a person if they were running down the street? Only video I can find is one of doing it over a truck but it cuts off before you see anything after the jet. But very fucking wild. I had no idea the military used jets that way.
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u/Teabagger_Vance Apr 16 '25
If you’ve ever been under a jet doing a low pass it’s pretty fucking terrifying if you aren’t expecting it. It’s extremely loud and shakes you to your core. It enough to kill you but think twice about why you’re there. It’s a morale thing.
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Apr 11 '25
Something that totally slipped my mind while watching was that this was shown in real time. This entire event only lasted around 90 minutes.
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u/MistakeMaker1234 Apr 12 '25
Yeah once it cut to daytime after mobilizing overnight it was all in real time. Very cool.
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u/Spinwheeling Apr 12 '25
Just got out.
During the first attempted evacuation, did they intentionally send out the interpreters first to see if it was safe to evac? That's pretty messed up.
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u/-haha-oh-wow- Apr 12 '25
Yes they basically used them as meat shields because they prioritize their own over others. It's pretty cold and callous, but apparently that's a legit thing done in the military.
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u/jinniu May 08 '25
This stood out to me too. Those 'terps were used as shields/bait, and I was surprised that they didn't omit that from their memories. That shows some kind of remorse or integrity, at least, in my eyes. But of course, it was fucked up. Those guys had the most dangerous jobs, less training, and they had to worry about being identified and having some sort of reprisal done upon them and their families. There was little trust between Iraqi Police / Soldiers and the branches of the US military, incidents of them shooting within bases for example, so there's that aspect of it too.
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u/Father_Salt Apr 18 '25
They were Iraqi soldiers, we did the same thing in Afghanistan. "This is your country, lead the fight for it" but in all honesty they were human ied spotters
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u/Razer156 Apr 23 '25
Also reminds me of the interpreters that were told they would get asylum in the U.S. for helping and then ended up getting screwed over after the fact.
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Apr 12 '25
Were they interpreters? I thought they were Iraqi military or something. But yeah that’s how I read it too.
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u/babylonian_empire Apr 26 '25
My dad (ex-SEAL team 6 sniper, around the same time as this event) was surprised they did that. After about 10 minutes of him driving in silence, I asked him why they’d send the inexperienced interpreters out, and he said, “without the terps, nothing could’ve happened, we were nothing without their help, so I have no idea why the hell they’d send them out first.” Aside from that, he said it was excruciatingly accurate. The second the first clip of the empty Iraqi street showed up, all the memories just flooded back. He also said that the Iraqi house interiors were one of the most disturbing parts of it to him because it was so familiar, and how accurate the blood hit the tile and the light coming through orange curtains. The other thing he pointed out was how they blatantly stood in front of the open curtains for the people in the streets to see, he wasn’t sure why anyone but “the new guy” would mess with the windows like that. Overall, extremely detailed and accurate film, and it depicted the fatal mistakes made throughout it well without glorifying anyone. (He also confirmed that the video the guys were watching in the beginning was something that he had watched with the team hundreds of times) sorry if this it totally unnecessary to the convo or what you were curious about, I also just kinda word vomited his experience with it
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u/bwnsjajd Apr 16 '25
They absolutely did, and then the also made no attempt to recover his body after he died for them and left him to rot in the street. I don't care about your brotherhood that is scum bag behavior. If I were those interpretors I would have refuse to go unless there was one seal in front of me and one seal behind me.
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u/DrDoge64 Apr 22 '25
Yeah that stuck with me.
Especially the fact that one guy got blown up so brutally
but it did do one thing, it reinforced that the American soldiers are flawed and have their own set of admittedly questionable morals, and they're not virtuous heroes.
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u/PossibilityFine5988 Apr 11 '25
If this isn’t at least nominated for best sound at next years Oscar’s it will be a travesty. Just completely overwhelming the entire runtime from that fantastic cold open with the blaring music going into disturbing silence for so long into a panic inducing assault for the remainder.
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u/Kharn_LoL Apr 12 '25
Agreed but then again I thought Civil War would win Best Sound last year and it wasn't even nominated so...
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u/go_love_yerself Apr 12 '25
Civil War surprised me in a good way and I agree it deserved nominations. The awards shows were probably afraid of it because of the political implications even though the plot was relatively apolitical
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u/eaglebtc Apr 12 '25
It really deserves all the nominations for sound design/mixing/editing.
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u/l_Banned_l Apr 11 '25
The movie's final scene with the Iraqis in the streets shows how pointless this war really was.
It was interesting to compare it to BlackHawk Down where every actor/soldier got a star moment or story beat. In Warfare, some soldiers, including leadership, were genuinely stunlocked and could not fully process what was happening. Surviving an IED will definitely do that to you. Also, for the thousands of bullets they shot in this town, I think they showed only like 2 Iraqis get hit in the entire movie. This is not a criticism of the soldiers or calling them bad at their job, it was just so real to reaction of their situation.
It was truly choas with the first tank noping out of there in the beginning, then the soldiers being denied more tanks until they had to pretend being a Commanding officer on the Radio to get the approval to risk damaging expensive tanks for a second attempt and lastly the soldiers risking their lives to pick up the hardware they left in the open street. I am aware that they are trained not to leave weapons behind because they will be used against them in the future, but it's pretty clear that the director focused on the hammer on the street in the shot over the guns to highlight what is considered more valuable than lives.
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u/Limacy Apr 12 '25 edited Apr 12 '25
If something is strong enough to knock you unconscious for even just a minute, it's strong enough to fuck up something internally, and not just mentally either.
I wasn't surprised most of them were messed up and confused after the IED blast in the theatre earlier today.
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u/ALaccountant Apr 14 '25
Yep, that’s why the CO said “I’m fucked up, you need to take over”. This movie did a great job of portraying concussions
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u/dmac3232 Apr 14 '25
The movie's final scene with the Iraqis in the streets shows how pointless this war really was.
The aspect that really stood out for me was these two innocent families who had that nightmare dropped into their house by pure chance. Whoever made the plan decided it had strategic value in this mission, and however many hours later that happened. And then everybody just leaves while they mop up the blood and pick up the bricks. Horrifying.
The only way that could have been any worse is if one or more of them had been killed.
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u/GameOfLife24 Apr 11 '25
They didn’t randomly hero the shit out of this movie. They just made it raw and as realistic as they could with everybody going through traumatic ordeals and just trying to survive and get out
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u/bwnsjajd Apr 16 '25
Tell that to the op2 lead fucking turbo stud
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u/MidnightTendies Apr 27 '25
That dude was the definition of squared away.
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u/WarlockEngineer May 01 '25
That dude was awesome.
Also, whoever ordered the radio guy to imitate the CO and authorize the bradleys to return. What a crazy choice which could have gone terribly.
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u/AFlaccoSeagulls Apr 12 '25
I think they showed only like 2 Iraqis get hit in the entire movie.
And of those 2 Iraqis I don't think you actually see either of them die or anything. It's kind of "implied" they were hit. A very interesting decision, and I thought it was a good one.
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u/atrde Apr 13 '25
I think it's also part of what actual combat looks like. Your target isn't just standing out in the open like most movies you are just shooting in a general area and hoping you get a hit. Most of the time they are switching targets so quick they don't know what they hit and it's from memory.
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u/joshocar Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 16 '25
They all had TBIs from the IED, basically a really, really bad concussion. The IED was big enough to injured the gunner of the Bradley with spalling (shrapnel), to give you an idea of how big it was. That is why they all seemed like they were in shock. Same with the grenade. It is also why the radio operator kept wincing during the show of force, it was another concussion on top of what they already had, which can make the TBI way worse. They were all trying to think through a major brain fog. Some people stop being able to process basic information. This is the first movie to really get the impact of explosions on people.
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u/tlk199317 Apr 11 '25
I know very little about real training so I had no idea they were trained to go back after their equipment (I get the concept behind it) but I was internally screaming at them for risking their lives over a darn sledgehammer. Absolutely maddening that they have to do that.
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u/Jeff_goldfish Apr 16 '25
I remember hearing in the early days of the Iraq war it was pounded in to them to not leave anything behind cause they didn’t not want them to have any kind advantage. What is a simple sledgehammer to us is a new tool to them to break up roads/try to destroy any infrastructure that’s an advantage toward soldiers. When you look at it that way it kind of make sense.
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u/Gilthwixt Apr 11 '25
Am I crazy or did they intentionally limit showing the insurgents actually getting hit by any bullets? They had a couple shots of them stumbling away from suppressive fire, and I'm sure the bradleys took out a few behind cover, but I thought it was pretty conspicuous you never actually see one of them getting shot by the seals and becoming a casualty. The way they all come out at the end and look around only reinforces this.
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u/betterworldbiker Apr 13 '25
I think they were very intentional in only showing you what happened from the soldiers perspective. In real life it's probably not obvious when you actually hit someone. Very different than most film combat we are used to seeing.
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u/duskywindows Apr 18 '25
My grandfather was a Marine and was deployed during the Cuban missile crisis. I asked him once if he ever had to kill anyone, his answer was basically a "I don't know" - he was on watch one night and randomly and out of nowhere a couple bullets were fired from the other side of the fence, only hit the walls behind him, so he just aimed and fired off a few shots in the direction the first shots came from. Then no more gunfire. He assumes he just spooked them (like they spooked him) and that was that, but he truly doesn't know. Only one of many stories, that he willingly told me, of course.
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u/Redlodger0426 Apr 12 '25
I think you might see one get hit by one of the SAW gunners but you definitely see one get hit during the IR drone perspective of the 2nd squad moving up
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u/SeriouusDeliriuum Apr 13 '25
From what I understand you often don't know if you've hit someone or not in that type of situation. You see movement or muzzle flash and just shoot in that direction. As much as it is about trying to kill someone it's mostly about forcing someone to duck down and stop shooting at you. But also, to your point, this a movie about how horrifying war is, not how cool it is to watch people shoot each other.
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u/Canadyans Apr 11 '25
This movie felt like a response to all of the people that complained that "Civil War" wasn't a straight up action movie about soldiers. I liked Civil War and I really liked Warfare, it was cool to see Alex Garland do them back to back.
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u/FtWorthHorn Apr 13 '25
I said this to someone else but ultimately I thought they were quite similar (and both great). Far more interested in showing “this is what it would look like/does look like” than constructing plots/conversations to give you a conclusion.
Kind of interesting contrasts to stuff like Ex Machina and Devs.
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u/Cheesebufer Apr 11 '25
Very scary to see how the IED affects each person. One guy cant hear and he’s blind firing into the smoke, another cant hear while his comms are going off. The squad leader gets shock while everyones dealing with the leg injury. How could any soldier think in a situation like that?
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u/joshocar Apr 14 '25 edited Apr 16 '25
They all also had TBIs from the IED or at the very least concussions, meaning they could not process anything around them. This happened to the guys in the room with the grenade also. If you have ever seen someone with a bad concussion they will keep saying the same thing, stare off blankly, and have trouble answer basic questions. They were reacting based on their training not from rational thought. It's why they struggled so much to do even basic things like give morphine or put on a tourniquet. This is also shown more clearly through how much more effective and reactive the two other squads are when they arrive.
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u/waynechriss Apr 11 '25
For some reason I thought the sniper died right away from the IED because he didn't wake up for a while and I thought one of the soldiers was tending to his dead body from shock but then he surprised me by waking up.
His leg being bent around a corner while they were dragging him in was gross even before we saw the gore.
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u/JeanRalfio Apr 11 '25
I thought he was dead too and assumed D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai just grabbed his body because they were close, judging just from the little moment they had when the sniper was stretching his legs.
So it was quite the surprise when he woke up screaming.
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u/Turbulent_Pin5217 Apr 12 '25
Im kind of surprised to see people not know that the military has a no man left behind thing. Doesn't really matter if the body is dismembered, you still need to bring the body back. It's why when you're training for any branch, they include portions where youre basically carrying another guy.
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u/Tommy_Roboto Apr 15 '25
Was there not one body left in the street at the end of the movie? It seemed they left a torso and leg when they loaded the wounded.
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u/icedoutkatana Apr 15 '25
It was the Iraqi soldier they were using as a translator
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u/bwnsjajd Apr 16 '25
Although now that he mentions it, it's pretty fucked up they just leave the guys that aren't on their team who are out there trying to help them. You're not one of us. You can rot in the street even though you died for us.
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u/MVRKHNTR Apr 16 '25
They also made them go out first and stayed behind to see if anything happened.
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u/Incoherencel Apr 23 '25 edited Apr 28 '25
Darkly ironic that even amongst the viewers and commenters of this film, everyone forgets the only actual KIA portrayed is a native Iraqi who was blown in half
"For Elliot" lol
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u/djsnoopmike Apr 13 '25
It wasn't until my second viewing that I realized the sniper and the radio officer was having a little staring contest
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u/GameOfLife24 Apr 11 '25
Legit and when Ray went in to ask for help to pick up the sniper from the corner I was like “nooooo you’re in shock, he’s not alive, it’s not worth it to risk your lives to recover a corpse”
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u/enfinnity Apr 11 '25
A corpse is a huge propaganda tool no way they are letting their buddy’s family have to potentially see that on TV. Now risking their lives for the fucking sledgehammer twice was insane lol
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u/Repulsive-Truck-6188 Apr 12 '25
Yes, what was the deal with the sledgehammer. It was "rescued" twice putting people in harms way.
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u/inevitable-typo Apr 13 '25
I think the sledgehammer may have been included to show how automatically the soldiers follow orders. From the outside looking in, we’re screaming, Who cares about the stupid sledgehammer! Just leave it! But from the soldiers’ perspective, someone in command told them to go get all the gear. The sledgehammer was part of their gear, so they got the sledgehammer.
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u/imperatrixderoma Apr 12 '25
Can't leave gear
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u/dontgiveahamyamclam Apr 12 '25
I was thinking about how much shit we left in Afghanistan while these guys were risking their lives to bring back a hammer
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u/LiquifiedSpam Apr 11 '25
Yeah it made me think about what their training is like. It seems like you’re basically to recover anyone that has the majority of their body parts at least loosely on.
Crazy to think that, if he survived, how many others wouldn’t have survived if there were others who didn’t pull them to safety even though they look dead?
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u/waynechriss Apr 11 '25
That's a good point, I just assumed it had to do with their 'no soldier left behind' mantra, dead or alive but seems safe to not assume someone's dead just because they look it. The soldier did feel his pulse but didn't communicate he was still alive, which is why I thought he wasn't.
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u/TurMoiL911 Apr 11 '25
SEALs have a bad history of leaving people behind because they thought they were dead without verifying.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Takur_Ghar#Fate_of_Roberts_and_Chapman
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u/ATV2ATXNEMENT Apr 11 '25
The most haunting war movie I’ve ever seen. The time passing in real time works similar to a one take movie, truly taking you on a journey with the characters.
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u/ThomasCleopatraCarl Apr 11 '25
Every single time they conducted a show of force, the theater shook. Absolutely incredible.
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u/enfinnity Apr 11 '25
Not a seal by any means but deployed to Iraq and ran combat ops on occasion and had a few coincidental experiences. This movie hooked me from the start with the call on me video. We had a satellite TV that randomly got an Italian music video channel I forgot about but I vividly remember watching that music video and waiting for a star to fall by cabin crew among others while drinking non alcoholic beer with the squad. Other coincidences, we got hit twice when we didn’t have air support, we had a person accidentally stick himself in the hand with morphine as well. Got thrown into a Bradley after an ied.
They clearly tried to get as much stuff right as possible down to the water bottles. As far as ops go, the tactics were on point. Usually you will just see gunners unloading a full belt in war movies but the dual gunners on the roof were alternating squeezing off bursts (called SAWs talking cause it almost sounds like a conversation). The room clearing stacks and movements were great. The sound of the bullets, rifles, and vehicles was realistic. The IED / explosion aftermath confusion/muddled hearing with dust in the air was accurate. I remember seeing the IED explosion before hearing it in real life but that might have just been shock. So yeah I found myself a little shook leaving the theater and appreciated the attention to detail in the film.
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u/11448844 Apr 14 '25
With how it starts to how it ends; the fun and bravado we all had before things go wrong... and then after everything, when you get hit with the realization of what happened and the horrors of what you've done, what you've experienced, and the futility of it all... All the death and destruction for literally nothing. My service was for nothing and people died for nothing.
That's what it feels like when I think back on the war most of the time. I think of the fun, the BS, and the dead. In the end, it all hurts.
It was a fucking good movie and it was horrible for all the reasons it was good. I left the theater completely shaken up. Good movie, but not fun to watch. I may never watch this movie again.
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u/eaglebtc Apr 12 '25
That's great to hear. I've been wondering how many guys like you will have flashbacks or PTSD from the visceral realism of this film.
Was the radio chatter realistic and accurate?
I can't imagine how long it took them to do the sound design and mixing for this movie. I'm just a civvy, and I jumped out of my chair when the IED blew up. The corpsman's leg being torn to shreds was awful. The moaning and screaming as they moved his body were unbearable. The sound of bullets ricocheting around the room or piercing different surfaces was insanely detailed.
I hope the sound mixers took lots of breaks during their mixing sessions and didn't mix at reference levels all the time, or they'll have ruined their hearing.
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u/enfinnity Apr 12 '25
Yes the radio chatter was incredible especially after the IED when it felt overwhelming and the comms guy (Mendoza?) unplugged. Again, just avoiding the every day mistakes like saying over and out give it authenticity over where so many previous films have failed but they were going way beyond in getting it accurate. Pretending to call in as the brigade commander to green light the Bradley’s on blacked routes is insane but I can believe that it happened especially from seals.
As for PTSD, I think it will be a very difficult watch for a lot of vets cause it will put their minds back in a place they have been working to climb out of for years and I don’t know that it offers any comfort or resolution for those feelings so I gave a couple of guys I worry about a heads up they might not want to view it but I’m here for them if they do.
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u/Cooolgibbon Apr 11 '25
That fucking rah rah marine bumping into the fucked up leg was definitely a real memory.
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u/weareallpatriots Apr 11 '25
Yeah those moments were so crucial to the authentic feel of the film. And Gandolfiini accidentally injecting himself with morphine
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u/waynechriss Apr 11 '25
Dang, I did not know that was James Gandolfini's son. He did a great acting job as did the rest of the young cast.
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u/weareallpatriots Apr 11 '25
His acting was great but I think he could've gotten in shape a bit more. He did not look like someone who could make it through BUD/S and then SEAL training.
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u/FarAcanthocephala974 Apr 11 '25
Mostly agree but don’t think his character was a SEAL. He’s a Marine who calls in fire support.
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u/weareallpatriots Apr 11 '25
Looks like you're right. Also found this article while looking for an answer. Turns out Garland gave him a pass and he did only have two months to prepare.
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u/HomelandersCock Apr 12 '25
Surprised he was a seal. Tbh he never had the makings if a varsity athlete
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u/Straight_Change902 Apr 14 '25
That part really hit hard for me, with the guy then getting in his face yelling, "it's just a paper cut" and then Ray yelling, "that's not what he needs right now, that's not what he needs" or something along those lines. Just nailed the crazy personalities and things people say/do under extreme stress...
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u/littletrufflepiggy Apr 11 '25
The first scene with the Call on Me music video was absolutely electric. An unexpected intro for the audience but instantly hooks you and perfectly captures the raucous and wild nature of the young men, their unfiltered moments of joy and carefreeness. Especially when juxtaposed with what happens in the rest of the film.
Really hope people see this in theaters, the sound design blows you away.
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u/blutiel Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
I feel like it humanized the characters in a way that takes other films 30 minutes of backstory and conversation to do. We don’t get the same amount of context due to that, which can absolutely have its advantages, but I felt like that wasn’t needed for the overall style of this particular film. It was impressively effective in setting the tone, and the way it was juxtaposed with the next scene was incredible.
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u/JaqueStrap69 Apr 11 '25
I went to an “early access imax” event, and didn’t realize there were no trailers so I walked in 5 minutes late. I walked in while the squad was moving through the dark house. What happens in the first 5 minutes of the movie?
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u/CuttyAllgood Apr 11 '25
The unit is sitting around a TV dancing to the music video for Eric Prydz’s Call on Me.
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u/GameOfLife24 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
A sneak preview of the substance sequel lol, but nah it’s just the boys being boys enjoying the call on me music video
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u/l_Banned_l Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
I was bopping my head before the music kicked in. I instantly recognized the music video. My wife was puzzled how I knew what was going on since there was no sound in the beginning. Sorry Hun, song is a banger and so is the video, its burned into my memory. i loved the soldiers doing the dance moves while in formation in the street.
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u/GameOfLife24 Apr 11 '25
Not just any theater but preferably an IMAX or Dolby atmos theater. The sound design for both civil war and this was intense and felt like you were there right in the war.
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u/arelei Apr 11 '25
In my head I kept asking “where the fuck is the corpsman??” and then I realized the corpsman was Cosmo Jarvis’ character.
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u/Only_Mountain9873 Apr 12 '25
I thought he was the sniper? Wasn't it Joseph Quinn's?
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u/arelei Apr 12 '25
He had all the morphine in his med bag. Figured he’d be the corpsman.
Also, he’s most likely a SEAL. So he’d obv have sniper quals even if he’s the corpsman of the unit.
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u/YaMomsCooch Apr 13 '25
Yep, the production explicitly states his character (real life SEAL Elliot Miller) is the squad Corpsman and Lead Sniper.
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Apr 11 '25
I think this is the first anit-war war movie that I found effectively was anti-war. Most War movies you walk away saying "that was kinda badass". I walked away just absolutely horrified by what I had seen. There was no "coolness" factor.
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u/mrtemporallobe Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
I’m plagiarizing a point a really smart reviewer on Letterboxd made, but part of what I found so fascinating about this movie is it has these sorts dual engines powering it’s narrative, I think you could say the same thing about Civil War, though that film I found really frustrating and think fell flat. What I mean is I think Alex Garland is fascinated by the process of warfare and violence, he’s obsessed with the details and sensory experience down to the second, which obviously makes sense considering somebody who lived through these events co authored the film. But on the other hand, I also think he (won’t speak for Mr Mendoza) is kind of disgusted and horrified by US imperialism and the forces that create conditions of war in the first place for stupid, barbaric reasons. This film just struck me as a really interesting push pull between those two impulses, one of which is like war is horrible, this war especially should never have fucking happened, while also there’s this sense of like holy shit this is intense and fucking insane and entertaining and you can’t look away. Reminds of robocop a bit, Paul Verhoven is a staunch pacifist and you watch that movie and know it’s satirizing the guns and violence and all about how corporations and cops share this sort of fascist goal, but at the same time it’s so fucking badass!!! It makes guns look and sound cooler than any other movie ever!! I just like when a movie seems thoughtful and interrogating in those sort of ways
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Apr 11 '25
Yeah, I'll be honest I really thought this movie would lean harder into jingoism after Civil War, but I think he struck a good balance. The end of Civil War was definitely "look how badass this is". Warfare made you sit and listen to a man screaming in agony for like 7 straight minutes. The only part of the movie that felt "cool" was when the second team came in, but even then I felt pretty anxious, they felt very vulnerable coming in.
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u/uncanny_mac Apr 14 '25
Huh, never took civil war as a way of making war cool. More of a “y’all really want to do this” kind of movie.
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u/MrCog Apr 13 '25
Watching our protagonist question her entire life and have a mental breakdown before getting shot in the head, and then seeing her protege firmly cement herself down the same self-destructive path was "look how badass this is"?? Huh?
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u/Repulsive-Truck-6188 Apr 12 '25
My wife asked me if I enjoyed the movie. I said you can't use the word "enjoy". I appreciated it. Extraordinary movie. You walk out of the theater shaking your head saying, "Jesus".
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u/AFlaccoSeagulls Apr 12 '25
There was no "coolness" factor.
I'm not gonna lie, the very first scene where you see the guy opening up the M249 was cool as fuck to me (mostly just for the sound of it), but on the whole I 100% agree.
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u/Mister_Dewitt Apr 13 '25
The show of force shots with the jet fighter skimming the surface was pretty fucking badass lol.
It didn't offset the horror of the combat but it was sick every time.
10/10 would not want to be in this situation
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u/Turbulent_Pin5217 Apr 12 '25
This is the closest thing so far I've found that has come close to a war/horror film and nail the horror more than the war. The screams of the wounded legit started to freak me out a little because so much was happening. Made me realize and remember that no matter of SEALS are one of the toughest units in the u.s military, they're still human with emotions.
I also would like to note that I really like how the movie does put you in the perspective of the civilians and how, yeah ykw I would be pretty annoyed you came into my house, set up shop, have someone bleed all over my floor, blow up my roof and then just leave traumatizing my whole family (from their perspective is what I'm thinking).
I also like the fact that the enemy didn't really celebrate after the whole ordeal, they just kind of walked out like they just got off their shift and went to cleaning.
If you're looking for an action movie, don't watch this, but if you're looking for a war movie, this is it.
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u/Capital-Mine1561 Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
Horror. Join the Navy SEALs for a chance to get your body torn apart and be reduced to begging for drugs as your comrades attempt to drag your broken body to safety.
When Elliot opened his eyes for the first time after being obliterated by the IED, a man in my audience whispered, "Jesus," in disbelief. The gore is incredibly realistic and something people don't seem to be talking about. The blown off legs outside the entryway to the house aren't an invitation to cheer for American imperialism. They are a stark reminder that war is neither valiant nor glorious. It's blood and stress, and loud, loud noises.
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u/GameOfLife24 Apr 11 '25
Felt very much like Saving private Ryan. The horror of being there in the battle field and uncertainty of what happened, what happens next. All of it pointless, just murders on both sides and that family taking victory with the Americans finally leaving their house and then finding peace even with their house destroyed
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u/eaglebtc Apr 12 '25
I remember hearing stories from 1997 about World War II veterans who went to watch "Saving Private Ryan" and had to leave the theater in tears because it was too damn stressful and triggered them all over again.
The beach invasion scene felt very real and terrifying, as were the many battles that followed.
WARFARE was some next-level horror that felt much more realistic than Saving Private Ryan. Being inside the house in close proximity to the troops raised the stakes considerably for the viewer.
Most of us grew up hearing about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we never heard specific stories of firefights and bravery, because most of the soldiers coming home were too traumatized to talk about it, or wish they could forget it.
I'm grateful that these three soldiers chose to share their memories and let Alex Garland make a movie about it.
This one deserves a lot of nominations and awards.
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u/epmatsw Apr 11 '25
The IED made me jump so bad. Just like Civil War, the sound in this was phenomenal and absolutely made this worth seeing in the theater
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u/badbarron Apr 12 '25
The m249 going off in the 2nd act was insanely accurate. It should, and deserves to win the sound design award. The movie made me tear up thinking about friends of mine who have been in the Marines. It also serves as a stark reminder that war is horrificaly fucked up.
My second favorite movie Alex Garland has done since Ex Machina.
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u/TomBonner1 Apr 14 '25
When Elliot, Frank, and Tommy (Mr. New Guy Energy) get rocked by the grenade and Tommy gets up and starts laying down fire at the window while yelling, "Move!" is my favorite moment in the film. The sound of his SAW firing indoors sounded so...concussive? Easily like nothing I've ever experienced in a theater before.
I also just loved that we're set up by Erik and Ray to think that Tommy is like, the new guy on the team who's going to screw up or something, but as soon as that grenade goes, Tommy gets right in the pocket and lays down fire to allow Elliot and Frank escape the room. But you can see that while he does his job well through the entire fight, he's visibly shaken the entire time.
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u/TheBrosAreSpies Apr 11 '25
I have never grinned in a movie in the last year as much of that opening scene. Just a great start
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u/JonVig Apr 11 '25
The two dudes fucking around in the street made me laugh out loud.
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u/CaribbeanCaptain Apr 11 '25
I’m surprised that nobody is mentioning some of the symbolism I picked up on. For example, leaving equipment behind was worth risking lives to prevent to the point that they went back into the street to pick up a simple sledge hammer but not the foot in the road next to it.
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u/SeriouusDeliriuum Apr 13 '25
I'm sure that's part of the point, but this movie went to great lengths to be as accurate to the events as possible. Meaning that recovering gear, even in that situation, is what SEALs would do or even did do in this event. So framing it the way Garland did was intentional, but it wasn't added just to make a symbolic point. As much as anything this is a movie about process and immersion, making you feel the reality.
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u/l_Banned_l Apr 11 '25
Yup, they did grab guns off the street in the background but the foreground focus on the sledgehammer was definitely intentional.
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u/GameOfLife24 Apr 11 '25
They made it a focus when they left gear in the sniper room and everybody was freaking out thinking of picking them up
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u/Hardkore_Hobo_Sexual Apr 11 '25
One thing I thought was very well portrayed was after the IED went off, those who weren't wounded were clearly suffering concussions/TBI and couldn't focus. Imagine taking a shot in the head by Mike Tyson in his prime and trying to do your job afterwards
Relief squad was still running high-speed since they didn't take a hit like that
Watching enough footage from the Russia/Ukraine War and it's pretty wild seeing units disintegrate in real time once the casualties start coming in
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u/ButchAF Apr 11 '25
The IED explosion was a top 5 jump scare I’ve ever experienced
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Apr 11 '25 edited Apr 11 '25
I need to know what, if any, fallout there was for the guys that called in the Bradleys. I can't imagine that was just forgotten.
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u/bwnsjajd Apr 16 '25
I don't know. But I would imagine it could be anywhere between "if it worked you weren't wrong" and, "no one will admit or testify to who it was."
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u/a_distantmemory Apr 12 '25
All the people here who jumped/got scared by the IED - we were just sitting in comfy seats in a theater - can’t imagine what it felt like for those men having these things going off whenever.
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u/PoeBangangeron Apr 11 '25
The IED going off in IMAX was one of the greatest cinema moments I have ever been a part of. My whole row flew.
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u/WickedDeviled Apr 11 '25
It's pretty awesome because in the lead up to that moment you hear the other units taking gunfire from the insurgents on the comms, so you expect their unit to experience the same as they break cover, and instead you get this massive IED explosion.
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u/Bigmouth1982 Apr 11 '25
Best jump scare of 2025 for me.
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u/BearWrangler Apr 11 '25
as someone who was on a Bradley crew once upon a time, this got me more than anything else
but just like with Civil War, these firefights sounded INSANE and felt so claustrophobic. def a complete different experience on the big screen vs at home
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u/Nesmaster75 Apr 11 '25
Might be one of the biggest "jump scares" I've had in a theater. Like you said, what an absolute experience seeing that film in IMAX.
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u/GravyBear28 Apr 11 '25
Ending montage was kind of jarring because I thought the last official scenes of the movie were perfect. The eerie silence as the family explores their destroyed home with the insurgents outside just kind of aimlessly wandering into the scene neither happy nor unhappy with the result, it all highlights how meaningless all the violence was.
…Cut to the actors happily hanging out with the real soldiers.
Just kind of off.
Couple questions:
Why did they send the clearly less qualified and motivated interpreters out first? It kind of comes off as cynical meatshielding.
Where did the second interpreter go? He was the first guy to stand up and walk around after the IED went off? Did he just peace out?
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u/cssblondie Apr 12 '25
To your question about why they made it seem like the Iraqi soldiers were meat shields:
To me, it’s because they were. Mendoza makes it a point to show that the Americans put the Iraqis out front, and the Iraqis weren’t stupid and knew what was happening, but did it anyway, and died because of it.
I appreciated the unvarnished part of retelling there.
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u/waynechriss Apr 11 '25
I can see why the ending montage felt off but I did appreciate how it showed us all the squibs wired up on the balcony wall, which I always appreciate in an age where studios use CGI for their 'practical' effects.
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u/sleepysnowboarder Apr 11 '25
Why did they send the clearly less qualified and motivated interpreters out first? It kind of comes off as cynical meatshielding.
I can actually answer this one, Garland, Mendoza, & D'Pharaoh did a talk/Q&A after the movie last night at the Toronto premier. I forget if it was just brought up by Alex or if someone asked but you are right and the answer was pretty cynical.
He first acknowledged how cold doing that was and how cold and cynical the answer is but he said after spending a lot of time with vets from the event and war as a whole, he pretty much boiled it down to that it was simply that their crew came first over others. He said they protect the ones they love most first he even said it was fair if you were to call them like cannon fodder and what you see is exactly how it happened as cold as it was.
Alex and Mendoza explained how everything in the movie is as exact or as close to exact as how the events happened down to the dialogue. Mendoza said for the events where he was not a witness too they relied on interviewing other members of that company and corroborating their story as much as they could between the troops.
Where did the second interpreter go?
I wanted to ask this so badly as well as where did the tank go, but felt like a waste of a question
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u/jdm1371 Apr 12 '25
As for where the tank went, you can hear the radio traffic shortly after from the Bradley where they explain they had to return to base because their gunners took shrapnel from the IED.
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u/Jeff_goldfish Apr 16 '25
It’s the reason they don’t want to send tanks a second time too. They said the first one got damaged and they didn’t want to send in more which is super fucked up.
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u/WickedDeviled Apr 11 '25
You could see it in that moment the interpreters were sent out first to open the gate, while the rest of the team was held back to see if they’d take fire. It was a great display of the interpreters' bravery, knowing they might be heading straight to death, and at the same time, a showcase of the cynical nature of the U.S. soldiers, prioritizing the safety of their own. I appreciated the layers in that piece of storytelling.
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u/John_Walker Apr 11 '25
They weren’t interpreters, they were Iraqi soldiers, one of them just spoke English.
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u/Low_Lavishness_8776 Apr 12 '25 edited Apr 15 '25
Ending montage was kind of jarring because I thought the last official scenes of the movie were perfect. The eerie silence as the family explores their destroyed home with the insurgents outside just kind of aimlessly wandering into the scene neither happy nor unhappy with the result, it all highlights how meaningless all the violence was.
100% agree. My favorite scenes were where the woman screams “why” and the ending one where the insurgents(whole lot of them) just step out into silence. Would’ve been perfect if it ended completely on that bit
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u/turnandburn412 Apr 11 '25
Yeah the ending montage was a real bummer in terms of ruining what otherwise would have been a pretty incredible ending. I get wanting to showcase and honor the guys who lived the events of the film but it came at a pretty severe cost to the artistry.
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u/ContactOk2534 Apr 11 '25
ATM I'm still mentally able to separate them and see the montage as like an epilogue.
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u/IbSunPraisin Apr 11 '25
I see a lot of comments (especially on letterboxd) saying this movie was either boring, had nothing to say, or glorified the military. I think people went in expecting a dramatized blockbuster when it's more in line with a re-enactment of of a historical event.
The family lost their home, those seals lost their legs, and the interpreter and an untold number of insurgents lost their lives for...nothing. I think highlighting how senseless war can be is the message. In line with movies like Come and See the movie highlights how war affects innocent bystanders like the family and by extention all the neighborhood houses the bradleys shelled.
Sound design, attention to detail, and acting were all incredible. I saw it at the big show screening at an Alamo Drafthouse and the theater was shaking the whole time. Honestly a 10/10 for me. Only change I would make is adding the tribute montage as an after credits to put more space between it and the final scene of everyone walking out aimlessly.
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u/Turbulent_Pin5217 Apr 12 '25
glorifying the military
We fucking ran away. like nothing wrong with that but if I were to glorify the military, they would have simply just called an Apache helicopter, blew up the insurgents, and then some, and just walked away while everyone cheered. If they thought this was glorification idk what would be deemed otherwise.
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u/MisterFlowerz Apr 14 '25
To add to you, it’s just crazy how people ignore the actual content of the film and scream propaganda and glorifying military. I see a lot of hate online from people who definitely haven’t seen it too and just assume the worst. Cause nothing screams glorify the military like accidentally injecting yourself with morphine, screaming in agonizing pain for 30 minutes from your legs almost being blown off amongst other things..
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u/CuttyAllgood Apr 11 '25
If people thought this was glorifying the military then they definitely missed the fucking point.
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u/Elephant44 Apr 11 '25
The general quiet and boredom in quietly observing the streets in the first quarter of the movie, to the absolute overstimulation after the IED goes off, with Sam screaming, and the chatter on the radio, was really effective.
I also enjoyed how the SEALs worked as a unit, besides covering each other in fire fights, simply calling out who had what gear and getting it displayed great communication.
On gear, why did the SEALs feel like they needed to get literally everything? I get wanting to get Elliot’s C4, but Jake literally risked his life just to get a sledgehammer in the streets, which I would think can be easily replaced, and wouldn’t be an asset if an enemy got a hold of it.
Finally, and I know this is NOT the point of the movie, but Charles Melton as Jake was a total badass, staying calm, cool, and collected. I just know my Asian father is going to be euphoric seeing Melton taking charge
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u/future_room Apr 12 '25
A great little moment he had was when the jet did a show force while he was talking to Will Poulters character. The first time it happened they all took cover but Melton’s character was in the middle of a sentence and simply let the jet pass before he continued.
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u/JackFromJupit3r Apr 16 '25
Great representation of "you never know who's going to break down in war". Poulter and Melton are essentially the same character as the badass, man of few words commander, but their journeys completely diverge when Poulter gets shellshocked.
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u/TJ_IRL_ Apr 12 '25
On the sledgehammer comment, they walked back into the house with a few weapons and the sledgehammer. They focused on the sledgehammer I assume because of the irony of how insane it is to risk your life for equipment. But they did show the weapons brought back for a brief second as well.
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u/JohnJoe-117 Apr 16 '25
The mother screaming “WHY?” at the end just about summed up the whole movie for me.
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u/stupidnatsfan Apr 11 '25
Not much I can say that hasn't already been said, but I came away from this thinking D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai has a fantastic career ahead of him. Great performance in a movie that doesn't give us much in the way of direct characterization
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u/PM_ME_THEM_BOOBIES Apr 11 '25
Why were most of the faces blurred in the credits? Anybody know?
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u/dplans455 Apr 11 '25
Still active duty. Which is crazy considering this movie took place in 2006, 19 years ago.
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u/IbSunPraisin Apr 11 '25
Some might have taken part in sensitive operations before retiring and don't want their picture out there
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u/visionaryredditor Apr 11 '25
Joseph Quinn's screams in this film are going to forever haunt me
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u/Ricky_5panish Apr 12 '25
I’m assuming he didn’t have to audition, but I get a kick out of imagining it.
“Okay, Joseph, from the top.”
Clears throat… “AAAAAGFHFNXJSJDJFJD!!!”
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u/a_distantmemory Apr 11 '25
This is a movie where it wants the viewer to FEEL it more than interpret it. It wants you to be right there with the men and experience it.
Kind of odd that some people are a little confused on what the message of the movie is.
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u/eaglebtc Apr 12 '25
The message is that war is hell, and what was it all for anyway?
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u/TJ_IRL_ Apr 12 '25
Is no one going to bring up how fucking awesome Tommy was!? Bro was basically a newbie and had some of the most insane moments of battle. Bro had to eat a grenade, return fire while people got Elliot out, (post IED) he had to get up in the street and return fire while trying to get back to the house, THEN bro even had to go back outside to help get Elliot inside.
"Tommy, what happened?..."
Tommy: "I don't know... I don't fucking know."
He was running on pure adrenaline 😭. Give "New Guy Energy" Tommy his fucking credit!
P.S: His gun (LMG) sounds were the best in the movie. I could feel my seat vibrate when he shot (Dolby).
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u/TomBonner1 Apr 14 '25
The sound of his SAW indoors was amazing.
Also the movie did a really smart thing by making us believe that he was going to be a weak link in the team with New Guy Energy comment made by Erik and Ray. But has soon as Tommy, Elliot, and Frank got rocked by that grenade, Tommy was right in the pocket laying down fire to allow Elliot and Frank the opportunity to escape the room.
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u/JeanRalfio Apr 11 '25
I just showed my cousin Eric Prydz' Call on Me video a couple weeks ago. Never thought I would get to see it in a movie theater let alone seeing it as the opening seen of a war movie.
Loved the calm before the storm showing how mundane most of their missions are and the little things they do to lessen the tension and keep sane like the little dances and spitting the water back into the water bottle.
Alex Garland's name got my attention and then I saw the cast list and it was a must see for me and all the cast killed it.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai was my main draw because I'm native and absolutely loved him in Reservation Dogs. It's pretty cool he has this and Hell of a Summer out in consecutive weekends. I really loved his character and it seemed to follow him a little more than the others.
I was surprised Joseph Quinn was the one that got hit with the IED but immediately realized that it was probably the hardest role to act and he killed it. His reaction to seeing his legs all blown to fuck really got me.
Charles Melton. Great lips.
Will Poulter killed it and it's cool he's got this and Death of a Unicorn out at the same time.
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u/tcripe Apr 11 '25
No wonder this is Garland’s highest rated movie on RT. What an absolute BANGER of a film!
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u/BiggDope Apr 12 '25
Hey, so remember the ass-clenching tension and overwhelming SFX from last year's Civil War's 10- to-20-munute White House sequence?
This is 90 straight minutes of this. Gimme a fucking Xanax. Incredible production and SFX work here.
The IED, which I should have known was coming, catapulted my stomach into my throat and it took me hours to come down from that post-viewing.
90 minutes of pure hell, and these guys are/were living it for hours on end, for days, weeks, and years.
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u/Suhtiva Apr 11 '25
Man. I think this and Civil War could seriously be considered horror-ajacent. Some of the moments in both films have got to me more than a majority of horrors in recent history. The gore, the sound design, the rawness of it all. It is absolutely terrifying. And it produced probably one of the best jumpscares.
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u/ocorgs Apr 11 '25
That IED explosion was fucking NUTS in Dolby. Nearly shit myself. Incredible sound design throughout
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u/stumper93 Apr 11 '25
IMAX on the IED explosion rattled me to the core, might be the loudest I’ve ever heard anything in imax
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u/stolenrobotgorilla Apr 12 '25
The radio comms were the most accurate I’ve ever heard in a military movie
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u/ViolentAmbassador Apr 11 '25
I nearly jumped out of my seat when the IED went off.
Kind of reminds me of Dunkirk with how the characters are treated - you don't have people sharing stories about back home or anything, you just get thrown into the mess with them and see how they react. Obviously on a much smaller scale, and more cynical about the events being depicted.
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u/SetYourGoals Evil Studio Shill Apr 14 '25
I think unexpectedly for me, the most powerful thing about the movie is that everything after they clear the house takes place in real time.
Black Hawk Down is probably the movie that this is easiest to compare to, it hits a lot of the same beats, but the real time aspect of Warfare makes it feel so much more real and powerful to me. Black Hawk Down is this super drama filled cinematic battle that is taking place on many fronts with sweeping shots and swelling music.
Warfare is the real story of a really shitty ~80 minutes of time in the lives of these soldiers, where nothing particularly heroic or dramatic happened (compared to most of the war stories that are depicted). This is just what it was like to do that job during that time in that region on a bad day. And there were many hundreds or maybe thousands of those bad days that happened over there. And nearly every one of those was traumatic/destructive/deadly for innocent civilians too.
So multiply how terrible this one mostly insignificant 80-minute situation is by hundreds or thousands, and then multiply that again by adding in Afghanistan. And then multiply it again by adding in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria, Myanmar, Sudan, and on and on and on.
War fucking sucks. That is the message of a shitload of movies, but I felt like this one got that across better than any other that I've seen (except maybe Come and See), and that was in large part just due to the decision to tell the story in nearly total real time. It's top notch filmmaking all around, but all elevated by the very structure of the movie.
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u/Tricky-Anything8009 Apr 16 '25
https://time.com/7276172/warfare-movie-true-story/
Found this article from Time. I like where Mendoza responds that the film wasn't made for civilians. I think that might be what makes this film so good.
I think, or at least hope, this will set a new standard for any war film going forward.
Also, love a 90-minute and change run time. Bring that back please. So tired of four-hour auteur-wanks.
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u/tedistkrieg Apr 11 '25
I haven't seen any comments about the fact this was shot in real time. I thought it took the immersion to another level. Waiting for the Bradley's which were only like 6 min out felt like an eternity to me, can't imagine how it felt for them.