Warfare is the Most Authentic Combat Film You’ll Ever See!
Image courtesy of A24.
By Luis Zonenberg
Continuing our look back at last year’s various films, I wanted to examine a highly acclaimed film lauded by critics and audiences that seemed to banish itself into obscurity. The film in particular is Warfare, a gritty inside look at the soldiers who fought to survive on the front lines in the Iraq War. The film was even co-written and directed by one of the soldiers who experienced it, offering a much more genuine reflection on what it was like struggling to survive their deployment overseas.
The film focuses on a Navy SEAL platoon called Alpha One led by Lt. Officer Erik (Will Poulter). Erik has his team take control of a two-story house, with sniper and corpsman Elliot Miller (Cosmo Jarvis) serving as lookout while JTAC communications officer Ray Mendoza (D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) coordinates air support to monitor their position. The team soon finds themselves surrounded by a barrage of gunfire and explosions, as they work to coordinate with their superior officers to send in a CASEVAC so they can escape without further casualties!
The film is absolutely harrowing and brutal to watch, offering a grittier experience more immersive than other war movies in the past have offered. There is no clear protagonist to root for here, instead opting to focus on an ensemble cast of characters who are all quite charming and likable in their own way. It allows you to connect with them as a uniform team, so when tragedy does strike, it makes the pain all the more visceral and raw.
Veteran Ray Mendoza collaborates with filmmaker Alex Garland to expertly craft one of the most gut-wrenching war films in recent memory. Thanks to Mendoza’s contribution, the film feels so much more authentic, with many of the characters named after his former team members and even moving exactly like a coordinated military unit. Mendoza even brought in other members of SEAL Team 5 to help choreograph some of the fight sequences and offer some insight to the cast members portraying them.
The ensemble cast provides some absolutely gripping performances, with each actor beautifully working off the others. Woon-A-Tai had the toughest job of not only portraying one of the surviving Alpha One members but also best representing a younger version of director Mendoza. He had great chemistry with Will Poulter and Joseph Quinn, who each provided a grounded performance that felt distinct and different from each other. Charles Melton, Michael Gandolfini, and Cosmo Jarvis also helped anchor the film with their performances as well.
The cinematography was absolutely stunning to behold, really immersing the audience into the claustrophobic environment in which the team finds itself. Using a variety of wide angles and long takes makes the viewer feel all the more unnerved as the film goes on. This brilliantly encapsulates not just the harsh reality these soldiers endure but presents it in a way that makes the viewer feel as if they are experiencing it with them!
The costumes and prosthetics also helped make the horror of the combat zone feel all the more intense and frightening to behold. The attention to detail on what the soldiers have to wear or the equipment to use is incredibly realistic! What is especially worth highlighting is the practical makeup they apply to make all the various injuries look so real and natural that it almost makes you queasy looking at it. The makeup and costumes crew did an outstanding job here, one that I feel cannot be outdone for years to come!
The movie is an underrated masterpiece, a true diamond in the rough when compared to other films released last year. What truly helped is the personal touch brought from veteran Ray Mendoza, who beautifully orchestrated a well-oiled machine of a film alongside his partner, Alex Garland. With a much more genuine fixation on the art of combat, Warfare is a harrowing epic to behold, thanks in part to Ray Mendoza’s expert direction and real-life experience.
Warfare is now streaming on HBO Max.
Rating: ★★★★★
