‘Warfare’ shows the brutal reality of combat for an elite unit

From the very opening of the movie I was hooked. Seeing a bunch of grimy dudes, holding guns and wearing military uniforms, gathered around a 480p video of Call On Me start losing their minds I knew Warfare would be an authentic flick. I watched the music video for Call on Me the same way. We were gathered around a tiny DVD player in 2009 with a pile of freshly burnt DVDs someone’s brother, uncle, or dad had sent. Most war films don’t show the average goofing off a bunch of young testosterone fueled warriors will get up to during a deployment. Screaming the lyrics to Call On Me and dancing around is par for the course.

Warfare is A24’s first war film and is co-directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza. Mendoza, a Navy SEAL, had been Alex Garland’s advisor on firearms and tactics on film’s such as Civil War. Now, he’s transitioned to the director’s seat to tell a deeply personal tale. 

The ‘Warfare’ backstory 

Mendoza and Garland teamed up to tell a true story about a mission Ray’s team went on in Iraq.

There wasn’t some guy sitting around taking notes to make this the most accurate recreation of that battle. Rather, it’s put together as best as possible from the memories of the men who were there. Memory can be tricky, and the film tells you up front that’s exactly what it is. 

The film is dedicated to Elliot Miller, a member of the SEAL team on the mission. As a result of the mission, Miller was wounded and has no memories of the battle. Ray Mendoza wanted to recreate the battle and the story to show Miller what happened during an event that drastically changed his life. 

The movie is 90 minutes of pure stress and is made to be incredibly realistic. The film does not pull its punches when it comes to the brutal reality of war and combat. Warfare tells its story mostly in real time.

The premise 

The events depicted in Warfare took place in Ramadi, Iraq, in 2006. The SEALs were deployed in support of a larger operation. The film does not offer you a pile of backstory or exposition; to the SEALs it’s just another day in Iraq. They are going to take a building, hold it, and eventually pull back when told to do so. That’s the plan, but like Mike Tyson says, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

Warfare does its best to be streamlined and accurate. Why are the SEALs wearing Army uniforms and camouflage? Well, that was standard operation procedure for special operations forces during the Iraq War to avoid them being specifically targeted. The film doesn’t tell you that; if you know, you know. 

Why are there two guys in desert MARPAT camouflage? The film doesn’t tell you, but they’re Marine ANGLICO guys supporting the mission. There isn’t a lot of time dedicated to establishing character relationships. We get a few precious moments of the SEALs making jokes at each other which keeps the movie grounded and realistic to an actual mission. 

There aren’t long speeches delivery by or massive personal problems explored between the SEALs; this eliminates the melodrama. 

Although the SEALs are elite warriors, the film shows that they are still men. They are vulnerable and afraid and they get hurt, and when that happens the whole team suffers. They are not above the confusion found inside of chaos. We rarely get a movie that shows a battered elite force, and that’s exactly what Warfare shows. 

This grittiness humanizes the men and helps them be relatable without exposition. Some may frown and think SEALs don’t act this way, but that would be losing the point. The men are scared, confused, and outnumbered. But they still act, they still fight, and that’s exactly what courage entails. 

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What to expect 

When you go into this movie don’t expect a fun action flick like John Wick. I couldn’t wait for this film to end. It was exhausting and painful to watch at times. It’s not a fun movie, and when I say this I mean it as a compliment.

An absolutely amazing cast of young soon to be mega stars lead the film. They are absolutely brilliant with strong performances throughout the entire movie. 

Expect noise, lots and lots of noise. Alex Garland and his team do sound well. The gunshots, and the explosions in this film are incredibly loud and jarring. It’s as close to real as it gets. It’s brutally loud at points. I’m someone who is in tune with their fight-or-flight reflex and at points I felt it kick in. 

My eyes widened to take in more light, blood pooled into my torso, I was less aware of my body and more aware of my surroundings. According to my watch my heart rate increased from its normal resting rate of 54 BPM to over 90 BPM for most of the film. 

There isn’t a big overarching plot to Warfare. There is no hero’s journey. It’s 90 minutes of their lives at war and it’s told with brutal realism. Do not go in expecting this to be some propaganda piece for the SEALs. Go in expecting to see the brutal reality of combat.

Feature Image: The team in Warfare sings along to “Call On Me.” (Courtesy of A24)

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