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Summary Warfare embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family, overwatching the movement of US forces through insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare, told like never before: in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.
Directed By: Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza
Written By: Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland
Warfare
78
7.4
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Summary Warfare embeds audiences with a platoon of American Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family, overwatching the movement of US forces through insurgent territory. A visceral, boots-on-the-ground story of modern warfare, told like never before: in real time and based on the memory of the people who lived it.
Directed By: Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza
Written By: Ray Mendoza, Alex Garland
Where to Watch
Not available in your country?
ExpressVPN
Get 3 Extra months free
$6.67/mth
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 43 Critic Reviews
78
81% Positive
35 Reviews
35 Reviews
19% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 43 Critic Reviews
78
81% Positive
35 Reviews
35 Reviews
19% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The overriding impression, once the adrenaline has drained away, is of futility, waste and pointless destruction.
A visceral cross-section of an Iraq War incident, related by the veterans who served there, Warfare stuns viewers into submission and leaves them with a grim apprehension of military service - albeit as close as one gets without being there.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 53 User Ratings
7.4
75% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
13% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
11% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 53 User Ratings
7.4
75% Positive
40 Ratings
40 Ratings
13% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
11% Negative
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
Pretty sure I have PTSD and tinnitus now. No longer want to sign up for the army. Would recommend
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The result is one of the best films of 2025 so far, successfully capturing the grim, brutal, and unpredictable nature of warfare that only a handful of feature films truly have.
The only agenda in Warfare, in other words, is to give you a sense of not just what happened but how everything felt while it was happening. A tall order, to be sure, but one that Garland, Mendoza, their cast and the crew pull off shockingly well.
This is a formidable technical showcase and obsessive forensic recreation whose imposed formal limitations become meaning-making ends in and of themselves.
The lack of character development blunts any potential for the deeper emotional impact found in the best war movies. The lack of political contextualization further limits how much the film is really capable of saying.
Alternately tedious, cacophonous and stultifying, the latest show of force from writer-director Alex Garland following last year’s equally frustrating Civil War just might be the most unnecessarily unpleasant cinematic experience you will endure this year.
Incredible film. Gruesome look into the reality of war. Tactfully executed, beautifully captured.
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Great movie, incredibly intense D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai could be the next big action star, and I'm okay with that.
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Technically proficient and I liked its small scope and the pace at which it resolved itself.
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'Warfare' (which we can classify as a spiritual successor to 'Black Hawk Down,' especially due to its politically conservative nature) handles tension well and astounds with its technical manufacture (the sound editing and mixing are amazing). Alex Garland once again proves to be a great genre director in this sense. Unfortunately, he's significantly declined since "Men" as a writer. The lack of individuals in this "story" deprives the soldiers of the humanity that Garland and co-director Ray Mendoza are looking for. Furthermore, his lukewarm approach since 'Civil War' reveals his concern about not wanting to upset the establishment and simply fulfilling the most conventional political and entertainment expectations. Perhaps his hints toward a possible retirement would be the best thing for him to do now.
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This is the worst "war" movie I've ever ****'s not really a war movie though since the whole movie takes place over 12ish ****'s realistic to the point of being boring. the soldiers occupy one house the entire movie. It would've been better as a documentary or a small part of a bigger movie. It's just bad.
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