“Warfare” delivers noise but little depth

By: Martin Romero, Special to the Star

(L-R)Taylor John Smith and Cosmo Jarvis as Frank and Elliot Miller in A24's Warfare released this April, now available to stream on HBOMax.  Credit: Murray Close

"Warfare," A24's latest war film directed by Alex Garland and co-directed by Ray Mendoza, offers a glimpse into Mendoza's harrowing near-death experience during the Iraq War but ultimately falls short of delivering a cohesive story.

Set in Ramadi, Iraq in 2006, the film follows a team of Navy SEALs surrounded in a seized Iraqi family's house after their surveillance mission turns into a deadly firefight with Al Qaeda fighters.

Rather than focusing on story or character development, directors Garland and Mendoza rely on loud, chaotic sound and stark visuals to draw viewers into the chaos of combat.

Their approach creates an intense, almost immersive battlefield atmosphere, but leaves very little room for an emotional connection between the audience members and the story's characters. This leads to one of the film's most significant weaknesses: a lack of character depth.

Despite the gripping premise, the first half of "Warfare" moves at a crawl. Long stretches of silence create tension but do little to build the characters or explain their backstories.

Viewers are left with very few reasons to care about the soldiers beyond their uniforms and the suffering of combat.

With so little context for the SEALs' decision to hold an Iraqi family hostage and use their house for the mission, the film makes it even harder for viewers to connect with the characters or care for their fate.

Unlike Garland's 2024 "Civil War," which followed photojournalists through a divided America at war and balanced action with story, "Warfare" leans almost entirely into the sensory experience.

This is greatly demonstrated in the opening scene of the movie, which begins with Eric Prydz's "Call on Me" blaring as the camera pans out to reveal the soldiers, signaling the film's obsession with noise and chaos.

When the firefight finally erupts, deafening gunfire and constant explosions dominate the sound mix. Instead of pulling audiences deeper into the chaos, the relentless noise overwhelms the limited dialogue, dulling the emotional weight of the action.

Though the absence of a musical score helps keep the film somewhat grounded, it also makes it feel hollow compared to recent war dramas like All Quiet on the Western Front, which uses music to its advantage by heightening emotions.

Having Mendoza, a Navy SEAL who survived the real events, might have brought depth and insight, yet the film barely gives us any insight into his mind.

Furthermore, a star-studded cast, including Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Michael Gandolfini and Noah Centineo, is largely hidden behind helmets, leaving little room for standout performances or character growth.

When the Al Qaeda insurgents eventually discover the team, the long-awaited firefight begins. While the intensity finally rises, the nonstop gunfire and explosions make the second half of the movie more numbing than gripping.

"Warfare" is best seen in theaters, where its booming sound and gritty visuals have the most impact, but viewers should temper expectations. Slow pacing, shallow characters and wasted talent weigh down what could have been a gripping survival story.

Garland's past work in "Civil War" and "Ex Machina" shows his ability to balance spectacle with storytelling, but here he allows the imbalances to leave the film loud and disjointed rather than powerful.

In the end, "Warfare" offers intensity without connection, a war film that rattles the senses but rarely touches the heart.

Content advisory: Rated R for intense war violence and bloody/grisly images, and language throughout.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars