It seems like every few years, a new film is released about everyone’s favorite topic: war. Every time, they claim it is the most realistic, and most haunting depiction to date. Usually, this means absolutely nothing, and the amount of film critics that served on the front lines are few and far between.
However, ever since it was first announced, “Warfare” seemed a little different. It was not being directed by some Hollywood hack, but rather Iraq veteran Ray Mendoza (with a little help from successful director Alex Garland). With this, along with the film’s tagline, “everything is based on memory,” it appeared as though the film was not going to be the same as those that came before it.
Only the soldiers themselves truly experienced what was happening in Iraq. For the untrained eye though, the film seems pretty realistic. The one and a half hour, almost cinema verite-style film essentially follows a group of Navy SEALs as they attempt to evacuate an Iraqi village as they fall under attack. It is shown in real-time, with very little time cuts. For the most part, it is a 90-minute glimpse into the front lines, and one that is as realistic and gritty as anything that has been done before.
This extreme commitment to accuracy is very impressive, to say the least, and especially when watching in a theater, it is as immersive as the experience can be. At the same time, however, it feels as though a lot has to be sacrificed in this pursuit of accuracy. What does this mean exactly? The movie is kind of boring. Yes there are the explosions and the conclusion is pretty exciting, but for the vast majority of the film, not a lot happens. Besides the fun, and now-viral opening scene, the first 25-or-so minutes is just the crew sitting around, seemingly waiting for something to go down. It does give an opportunity to get familiar with the platoon, which is portrayed incredibly by a sort of Hollywood all-rookie team with future stars like Cosmo Jarvis, Will Poulter and rom-com legend Noah Centineo. The actors are all phenomenal and their characters certainly feel real, but there are just too many of them. Because of this, it is hard to get emotionally attached to any of them, and as a result, really care about what they go through.
At the end of the day though, this was just the reality of the situation. There were 25 or so soldiers trapped in a house, and they did not have the time and/or security to spend the night hanging out and having a good time, as exciting as that would be. Maybe Mendoza and Garland could have included lighthearted scenes, and there is no doubt that if they did, they would have done an amazing job. However, that is not the point of this film. If nothing else, “Warfare” is raw, intense and real. Besides the attractive young actors playing the soldiers, it is about as un-Hollywood as a modern film can be, for better or worse.