it's a rare thing indeed when a movie can make you physically jump in your seat when some shocking event occurs or tense up because you're so invested in what's happening on screen or provoke an actual feeling of unease because you feel like you're right there in the thick of the action but Warfare a low-budget A24 movie directed by Alex Garland and former US Navy Seal Ray Mendoza is just such a film i don't think I've ever experienced something quite like warfare before i mean I've seen plenty of heroin war movies in my time from the
chaos and carnage of Omaha Beach and Saving Private Ryan to the desperate battle for survival against overwhelming odds in Blackhawk Down to the madness and betrayals of Platoon and not to take anything away from those movies but how can I put this I was never able to forget that I was watching a movie they looked and felt cinematic from the performances to the camera work to the musical scores and so there was always a certain distance between me and what was happening on screen warfare breaks down that barrier in a way that few movies ever
have throwing you right into the middle of the action by presenting its events in the kind of matterof fact by the numbers style of a real military engagement no frivolous editing techniques or overroought dramatic performances or soundtracks straining for poignant emotion and heartpounding drama it's a movie that somehow doesn't even feel like a movie with none of the safe and reliable conventions of normal war films to fall back on and the effect is that well you kind of feel like you're right there amongst it which is exactly how it should be the film is set
in Iraq in 2006 and follows a platoon of US Marines holed up in a house after breaking in during the night their mission is to keep a low profile and observe the streets and buildings in the area in support of a larger operation going on elsewhere and at first everything seems to be going to plan there's an almost mundane sense of boredom on that first morning as the team make note of minor events in the area and communicate with their superiors but as the day wears on the warning signs begin to mount up more and
more men of fighting age start massing in nearby buildings weapons and observers are spotted and it soon becomes obvious that they've been rumbled before long they're under attack and they've taken casualties forcing them to call in support to evacuate the woundeds and well this is where the [ __ ] really hits the fan pretty soon the team are pinned down and fighting for their very lives many of them heavily wounded and what follows is a desperate battle for survival as they try to hold off superior enemy forces and call in reinforcements to get them the
hell out of there but will they be able to persuade their superiors to risk even more men to get them out and even if they do can they hope to hold out until they get there honestly I could spend a lot more time talking about the plot but I don't want to spoil it for anyone and really it's not a particularly complex story anyway the real tension and drama in this film is the momentto- moment combat the individual stories of heroism bravery sacrifice and the hundreds of difficult decisions that have to be made in the
heat of the moment usually by guys who are injured exhausted and fighting for their lives it's brilliant stuff that perfectly captures the chaos the danger and the constant need for communication that's all part of frontline combat in an urban environment like this ray Mendoza the co-director actually fought in this [ __ ] battle and apparently worked closely with Garland to get the tactics pacing and dialogue as accurate as possible and it shows there is no insane Hollywood style melodrama or hero shots in this one just soldiers doing their best in a very tough situation and
because the film doesn't adhere to any of the conventions of normal war movies you feel a constant sense of tension because anything could happen to anyone at any moment nobody is safe and even when it seems like things might be looking up you know that it could all fall apart in a heartbeat i've never been within a thousand miles of an actual war and even I was 10 stop watching it [ __ ] knows what a film like this must be like for actual combat veterans there's almost no musical score to speak of the sound
design is entirely based around the kind of booming gunfire and explosions and frantic radio chatter that you'd actually hear in a situation like that and the only time it becomes a little more stylized is to show the devastating aftermath of an IED explosion and wow is it effective i actually jumped in my seat at one point where something happened completely without warning or buildup which I guess was exactly the point if you're going to see this one go see it in IMAX trust me it'll be worth it the cast all equit themselves brilliantly there's no
particularly big stars in this one but plenty of solid recognizable character actors who all do a great job bringing their characters to life in a way that feels believable and realistic joseph Quinn and Will Poulter are both excellent and Charles Melton especially is superb as a solid as [ __ ] team leader sent in to reinforce the belleaguer platoon and what's most impressive about warfare is that it was all done on a tiny budget of just $20 million and it looks great compare that to overblown shite like The Electric State that cost 320 million to
shart out or basically any Marvel movie these days and you begin to realize what can actually be done by a smaller dedicated team of professionals with a story they want to tell the film's ending offers no real resolution or closure for the narrative which I guess was the entire point and you get the sense that for all the destruction caused and the lives lost nothing of value was really accomplished by this battle both sides retreated to lick their wounds only to be thrown into the meat grinder again when the next battle rolled around neither one
having gained any real advantage almost makes you think about all the people who pointlessly died in the real Iraq war doesn't it either way Warfare is a superb movie and a strong candidate for my best film of the year so far do yourself a favor and go see it and support a film that actually deserves your time and money for a change anyway that's all I've got for today go away
