Warfare
Warfare is a 2025 war film written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland. Based on Mendoza’s Iraq War experiences as a U.S. Navy SEAL, the film depicts an encounter he and his platoon experienced on November 19, 2006 in the wake of the Battle of Ramadi.
To maintain historical accuracy, the film’s material is taken exclusively from the testimonies of the platoon members, and is presented in real time. It stars an ensemble cast that includes D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Mendoza, alongside Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, and Michael Gandolfini. The film is dedicated to platoon member Elliott Miller (Jarvis), who lost his leg and the ability to speak in the incident.
Warfare premiered at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago on March 16, 2025, and was released in the United States by A24 on April 11, 2025, and in the United Kingdom on April 18. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $31 million.
Plot
During the 2006 Battle of Ramadi, Navy SEAL platoon Alpha One takes control of a local house under the cover of darkness. Upon discovering the upper floor is a separate apartment, they breach a wall to gain entry. JTAC communications officer Ray Mendoza coordinates air support to monitor their position while sniper and medic Elliott Miller monitors a market across the street. They are providing overwatch in support of a US Marines operation.
Translators Farid and Noor learn of different families on the two floors of the building and tell them to remain silent in place. Ray and Elliott observe increased activity and air support leaves the area. ANGLICO LT McDonald radios for air assets while the translators warn that the enemy has broadcast a call to arms. Leading Officer in Charge Erik assigns the translators to guard the lower level of the building.
A grenade is thrown into the sniper’s room, injuring Elliott, while Tommy and Frank suffer concussions. Elliott will be evacuated by CASEVAC. In preparation, the team gather their weapons and blow Claymore mines. Through dense smoke, the Iraqi translators lead Elliott, Sam, Tommy and Erik out to the waiting M2 Bradley. As its ramp drops, an IED is detonated killing one of their translators, Farid, and wounding Elliott and Leading Petty Officer Sam. The Bradley, also sustaining casualties, withdraws.
Alpha One falls back and reorganizes in the house. Inside, they tend to Sam and Elliott, both seriously wounded with Elliott knocked unconscious. Erik calls Alpha Two to redeploy urgently into their position, but their advance is delayed by firefights in the street. Air support returns, but because enemy fighters are so close to Alpha One’s position McDonald can only coordinate a show of force.
Ray determines Sam requires a tourniquet but is unable to apply it due to his shaking hands. Instead, he places his knee on Sam’s wound, increasing Sam’s agony. Ray dissociates, Erik steps in to apply the tourniquet. Elliott regains consciousness and screams in pain as McDonald tends to his injuries. Elliott directs McDonald to the morphine in his bag which is finally administered to Elliott and Sam.
Alpha Two and the third element reach Alpha One’s building. Erik, severely disoriented, surrenders his leadership to Alpha Two leader, Jake. Jake’s request for medical evacuation is denied for fear of another IED attack. He orders his communications officer, John, to impersonate the army commanding officer to approve their evacuation. Gear is retrieved from the street before Elliott and Sam are loaded into a Bradley each.
The team return to the house with insurgents converging on their position. Believing they might have infiltrated the second floor from the roof, Jake orders two other Bradleys to take out the top deck of their building. Under cover of another show of force, Alpha One and Alpha Two are extracted by the Bradleys and leave the neighborhood under heavy small arms fire. The families in the house slowly emerge from their rooms, realizing the soldiers have left. The surviving insurgents cautiously gather in the street and study the remains of Farid.
The film ends on the title card: For Elliott. Before the end credits roll, the real SEAL team 5 involved in the mission are shown participating in the production of the film.
Entertainment (2014) Full Movie
Cast
Credit – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warfare_(film)#Cast
With the exception of Mendoza and Miller, all real-life figures were given aliases for their characters.
- Joseph Quinn as Sam, the LPO (based on Joe Hildebrand[7])
- Charles Melton as Jake, Assistant Officer in Charge
- D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai as Ray Mendoza, a communicator/JTAC
- Will Poulter as Erik, Officer in Charge
- Cosmo Jarvis as Elliott Miller, a Corpsman/lead sniper[8]
- Kit Connor as Tommy, a gunner
- Finn Bennett as John, a communicator/JTAC
- Taylor John Smith as Frank, a sniper
- Michael Gandolfini as USMC LT McDonald, an officer in ANGLICO and an FSO (fire support officer)
- Adain Bradley as USMC Sgt. Laerrus, a member of ANGLICO
- Noah Centineo as Brian/Zawi, a gunner
- Evan Holtzman as Brock, a sniper
- Henry Zaga as Aaron, point man
- Alex Brockdorff as Mikey, a point man/gunner
- Nathan Altai as Farid
- Donya Hussen as Noor
- Aaron Deakins as Bob
Thunderbolts* (2025) Movie Review
Our General Review
The Setup: A Platoon, a House, and a Whole Lotta Dust
Picture this: it’s 2006, Ramadi, Iraq, and a squad of U.S. Navy SEALs is about to have the worst day of their lives. Warfare, co-directed by Alex Garland (the guy who made Civil War and Ex Machina, so you know he loves messing with our heads) and Ray Mendoza (a real-life SEAL who lived this nightmare), drops us into the boots of these soldiers with all the subtlety of a grenade lobbed through a window.
Based on the real memories of Mendoza and his comrades, this film is less about plot and more about vibes—specifically, the vibe of being trapped in a two-story Iraqi house, surrounded by insurgents, with nothing but your wits, your weapons, and a playlist featuring Eric Prydz’s “Call on Me” to keep you sane.
The movie opens with a scene so absurdly joyful it feels like a prank. Our SEALs, a bunch of young, testosterone-fueled dudes, are crammed into a room, hooting and hollering at a gloriously cheesy music video for “Call on Me.” You know the one: spandex-clad gym bunnies thrusting to a beat that screams 2004. It’s a moment of pure, unfiltered bro energy, and I was already cackling. These guys aren’t just soldiers; they’re lads, probably debating whether to get matching tattoos after this mission. But don’t get too comfy—this is the last time you’ll smile without wincing for the next 90 minutes.
The SEALs, led by Captain Erik (Will Poulter, rocking a buzzcut and a scowl that says, “I’m in charge, but I’m also terrified”), sneak into a civilian home in Ramadi under cover of night. They politely (well, as politely as you can with rifles) ask the family living there to chill in a bedroom while they turn the place into a sniper’s nest. The mission? Keep an eye on the neighborhood for… something. The film doesn’t bother explaining, and honestly, that’s part of the charm. It’s like being dropped into a group chat with no context—everyone’s yelling acronyms, and you’re just nodding along, hoping nobody quizzes you.
The Cast: A Parade of Baby-Faced Badasses
Let’s talk about the ensemble, because Warfare is stacked with young talent who look like they just graduated from a Netflix teen drama but are now tasked with carrying the weight of a warzone. Will Poulter as Erik is the stressed-out team leader who’s one bad day away from writing a strongly worded letter to his CO.
Cosmo Jarvis as Elliott, the sniper with a mustache that deserves its own IMDb page, brings a grizzled charm that makes you want to buy him a beer and ask for war stories. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai plays Ray (a stand-in for Mendoza), the comms guy who’s basically the team’s Siri, narrating their every move with a voice that’s equal parts calm and “oh crap, we’re doomed.” Charles Melton, Kit Connor, Joseph Quinn, and a dozen other familiar faces round out the platoon, each one looking like they could star in a CW reboot of Band of Brothers.
These guys don’t get character arcs, and that’s by design. No one’s pulling out a photo of their sweetheart back home or monologuing about their dreams of opening a bakery. They’re just dudes doing a job, and that job happens to involve dodging bullets and screaming in pain. It’s refreshing, in a weird way—like, thank you, movie, for not making me memorize everyone’s backstory. But it also means you’re rooting for them as a unit, not as individuals. They’re less “Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan” and more “that group of guys at the bar who keep yelling about fantasy football.” You like them, but you don’t know them.
The Iraqi family, meanwhile, is heartbreakingly sidelined. They’re herded into a bedroom, scared out of their wits, and the film doesn’t give them names or much screen time. It’s a deliberate choice to keep the focus on the SEALs’ perspective, but it stings. These are real people caught in the crossfire, and the movie’s like, “Yeah, they’re here, but let’s get back to the soldiers.” It’s a missed opportunity to humanize the civilians, though the final shot of their wrecked home hits like a punch to the gut.
The Vibe: War Is Hell, But Also Really Boring Sometimes
Here’s where Warfare gets delightfully weird. For the first half, nothing happens. I mean, nothing. The SEALs set up their sniper post, whisper military jargon (“HVT in the AO, over”), and take turns peeing in water bottles. It’s like watching a live stream of a stakeout, except instead of catching a cheating spouse, they’re waiting for insurgents to maybe show up. I was half-expecting one of them to pull out a Nintendo DS to pass the time. This slow burn is intentional, showing the soul-crushing monotony of war. It’s tedious, it’s tense, and it’s kind of hilarious in its commitment to making you feel as bored as the soldiers.
Then, BOOM—a grenade rolls through a hole in the wall like an uninvited party guest. From there, Warfare shifts gears faster than a teenager learning stick shift. The second half is pure chaos: gunfire, explosions, screams, and enough dust to make you want to Lysol your eyeballs.
The sound design is a character in itself—every bullet sounds like it’s personally offended, and the fighter jets roaring overhead made my theater seat vibrate like a cheap massage chair. The screams of the wounded don’t stop, and I mean don’t stop. It’s like the movie decided to crank the volume on human suffering and leave it there. I laughed nervously at one point because I didn’t know what else to do—my brain was like, “This is too much, let’s make a joke about it!”
The Humor: Finding Joy in the Absurdity
Okay, let’s get to the fun part: the humor. Warfare isn’t trying to be a comedy, but there’s something inherently funny about its refusal to play by Hollywood rules. Take the opening “Call on Me” scene. It’s so over-the-top, it’s like the movie’s saying, “Hey, before we traumatize you, here’s a bunch of dudes vibing to a softcore aerobics video.” I was wheezing. Then there’s the way the SEALs bicker over tiny details, like whether an insurgent is “peeking” or “probing.” It’s peak sibling energy—imagine your brothers arguing over who gets the last slice of pizza, except they’re holding rifles and surrounded by hostiles.
The jargon is another goldmine. The SEALs toss around terms like “QRF” and “CASEVAC” like they’re ordering at Starbucks, and I was just nodding along like, “Sure, I totally know what that means.” It’s unintentionally hilarious because it’s so authentic—nobody stops to explain, just like nobody explains “BRB” in a text. There’s also a moment where a soldier tries to make small talk, and the others shut him down like he’s the new kid at school. It’s the kind of awkward, human moment that makes you chuckle even as you’re bracing for the next explosion.
And let’s talk about that mustache on Cosmo Jarvis’s Elliott. It’s not just facial hair; it’s a personality. I swear it deserves a supporting actor nod. Every time he’s on screen, I’m like, “Go, Mustache Man, snipe those bad guys!” It’s the little things that keep you sane in a movie this intense.
The Craft: A Technical Marvel That Punches You in the Face
From a filmmaking standpoint, Warfare is a flex. Garland’s knack for suspense, honed in sci-fi thrillers like Ex Machina, turns every quiet moment into a pressure cooker. The cinematography by David J. Thompson is claustrophobic and chaotic, with tight shots of sweaty faces and shaky cams that make you feel like you’re dodging bullets too. The sound design, credited to a small army of 14 people, is so immersive it’s practically a war crime. When a bomb goes off, you don’t just hear it—you feel it in your bones. I’m pretty sure I left the theater with tinnitus.
The real-time approach is both a strength and a weakness. On one hand, it’s gripping—you’re stuck in this house with these guys, minute by agonizing minute. On the other, it can feel like a slog. There’s no montage to speed things up, no inspirational speech to rally the troops. It’s just raw, unfiltered war, and sometimes you’re like, “Okay, I get it, war is awful, can we move on?” But that’s the point: war doesn’t care about your attention span.
The lack of a traditional score is another bold move. Instead of swelling strings, you get the ambient sounds of Ramadi: distant voices, barking dogs, the hum of a fighter jet. It’s like the movie’s saying, “You don’t get a soundtrack to make this feel epic. You get reality.” And reality is loud, messy, and occasionally boring. I laughed at how un-cinematic it felt at times—it’s like Garland and Mendoza were daring us to complain about the lack of explosions in the first 30 minutes.
The Themes: War Is Pointless, But Also Kinda Cool?
Here’s where Warfare gets tricky. It’s aggressively apolitical, which is both its greatest strength and its biggest flaw. By focusing solely on the SEALs’ experience, it avoids the flag-waving jingoism of movies like Lone Survivor or American Sniper. There’s no “rah rah, America!” here—just a bunch of guys trying not to die. But that neutrality can feel like a cop-out. The Iraq War was a messy, controversial conflict, and Warfare sidesteps the why and how of it all. Why are these guys here? What’s the mission? Who cares! Bullets are flying, and that’s all that matters.
This apolitical stance makes the movie feel like a Rorschach test. If you’re anti-war, you’ll see a brutal indictment of military hubris. If you’re pro-military, you’ll see a tribute to the bravery of soldiers. I found myself laughing at the absurdity of it all—here’s a movie that’s so committed to realism it forgets to have an opinion. It’s like a vegan burger: technically impressive, but you’re not sure what it’s trying to say.
The Iraqi civilians are the elephant in the room. The SEALs barge into their home, hold them at gunpoint, and turn their lives into collateral damage. The film doesn’t dwell on their fear or anger, which is both a stylistic choice and a moral failing.
There’s a haunting moment at the end where we see the family’s ruined home, and I couldn’t help but think, “Man, these guys just got screwed over, and we’re supposed to care about the soldiers’ PTSD?” It’s a dark irony that the movie doesn’t fully explore, but it’s there if you’re paying attention. I chuckled bitterly at the thought of the family filing an insurance claim: “Yeah, some Americans turned my living room into a warzone. Can you send an adjuster?”
The Emotional Rollercoaster: Laughing Through the Tears
Warfare is not a feel-good movie, but it’s not trying to be. It’s a feel-everything movie—fear, boredom, panic, and, yes, even humor. I found myself laughing at the sheer audacity of it all: the way it refuses to hold your hand, the way it makes you sit through 20 minutes of soldiers whispering about “squirters” (military slang for fleeing enemies, but come on, that’s funny), the way it throws you into chaos without a map. It’s like the movie’s saying, “Welcome to war, buddy. Good luck.”
The performances carry a lot of the emotional weight. Joseph Quinn’s Sam, the wise-cracking medic, brings a spark of levity with his brash energy, like he’s auditioning for a buddy cop movie. When he’s screaming in pain later, it’s gut-wrenching—like watching your class clown get detention for life. Cosmo Jarvis’s Elliott is the heart of the film, a grizzled sniper who’s seen too much but still cracks a smirk. And Will Poulter’s Erik is the guy you want leading your team, even if he looks like he’s about to have a nervous breakdown. These performances are so raw, you can’t help but feel for these guys, even if you don’t know their favorite color or their dog’s name.
The humor, for me, came from the absurdity of the situation. These are highly trained SEALs, the best of the best, and they’re stuck in a house with no plan, no backup, and a family they’re basically holding hostage. It’s like a dark comedy version of Home Alone, except instead of booby traps, Kevin’s uncle is lobbing grenades. I laughed at the moments of human error—like when a soldier fumbles a radio call or when they argue over who’s supposed to go first during the evacuation. It’s not ha-ha funny, but it’s human funny, reminding you that even elite soldiers are just people trying not to screw up.
The Takeaway: A War Movie That Hates War Movies
Warfare is a paradox: it’s a war movie that despises the tropes of war movies, yet it’s still undeniably a war movie. It’s not Saving Private Ryan or The Hurt Locker—it’s not trying to be. It’s closer to Restrepo, the 2010 documentary about soldiers in Afghanistan, but with better lighting and a budget. It’s a film that wants you to feel the weight of war without the Hollywood gloss, and it succeeds in spades. But it also leaves you feeling a bit empty, like you just ran a marathon and forgot why you signed up.
For all its technical brilliance, Warfare’s biggest flaw is its lack of a clear point. Is it saying war is hell? Duh. Is it honoring the soldiers? Sure, but it’s not waving a flag. Is it critiquing the Iraq War? Maybe, but it’s too busy dodging bullets to say so. It’s a movie that demands you bring your own context, which is both frustrating and brilliant. I laughed at how stubbornly it refuses to spoon-feed you answers—it’s like the film’s saying, “Figure it out, nerd.”
Final Thoughts: A Brutal, Funny, Unforgettable Ride
Warfare is not a movie you “enjoy” in the traditional sense. It’s a movie you survive. It’s a gut-punch, a sensory assault, and a masterclass in making you feel like you’re there. It’s also, in its own weird way, hilarious—not because it’s trying to be, but because life is absurd, and war is the absurdest thing of all. I left the theater shaken, a little deaf, and weirdly grateful for the experience. It’s like going to a haunted house: you scream, you laugh, you maybe cry a little, and then you go get ice cream to feel normal again.
If you’re looking for a war movie with clear heroes, a tidy plot, and a rousing score, Warfare will disappoint you. But if you want to feel what it’s like to be a soldier in the thick of it—bored, scared, and covered in dust—this is as close as you’ll get without enlisting. Just bring your own water bottle to pee in.
Rating: 8.5/10
It’s not perfect, but it’s unforgettable. And that mustache deserves an Oscar.