‘Warfare’: First Reactions to Alex Garland’s A24 War Film – Hollywood Reporter
Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterThe harrowing real-time Iraq War movie hits theaters on April 11.
By
Abid Rahman
International Editor, Digital
The first reactions to Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare have hit social media, and the early consensus suggests the film is an intense, brutal and harrowing work that must be experienced in theaters.
Warfare is a real-time and immersive retelling of a battle during the 2006 Iraq War, and follows a team of Navy SEALs coming under heavy fire as they are trapped inside a house.
In addition to co-directing the feature, Mendoza, an Iraq War veteran, co-wrote the script for Warfare with Garland and the film largely is based on Mendoza’s memories of the conflict. Warfare is Garland’s follow-up to the much-talked about 2024 release Civil War, that was A24‘s most expensive film ever to produce and also the studio’s second most successful release at the global box office after Oscar-winner Everything Everywhere All at Once.
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Much like the equally realistic and harrowing Black Hawk Down (2001), Warfare has a large ensemble cast that includes a number of rising Hollywood stars including D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henry Zaga, Joseph Quinn and Charles Melton.
Warfare is set to hit theaters April 11.
Read on for some early social media reaction to press screenings of Warfare.I’m absolutely floored by #Warfare. Brutal, realistic, horrifying, and one of the most harrowing depictions of war on screen. It plays out like a horror film ratcheting up tension. There’s one scene that had me covering my ears. Amazing film. Best use of “Call On Me” ever. #A24 pic.twitter.com/oqCulTGpllAlex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s #Warfare is definitely the most intense film I’ve watched this year. Incredibly immersive in its approach, we’re thrust into an impossible situation w/ soldiers trapped inside a home under attack. There’s little breathing room and lots of action… pic.twitter.com/jajG2BGEd9Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza’s Warfare is an honest, harrowing, intense and powerful piece. It’s one of the first must see movies of the year. An incredible tribute to the unimaginable sacrifice this brave band of brothers made. Incredible stuff. Flawless #Warfare #WarfareMovie pic.twitter.com/6NgNzhQZIPRay Mendoza and Alex Garland’s WARFARE is excellent filmmaking that puts the brutality of war in raw, immersive display. I won’t be able to stop thinking about for a while. (And I’m still thinking about CIVIL WAR, too.)Brutal. Unflinching. Relentless. WARFARE isn’t just a war film—it’s an experience. Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza strip away the spectacle, delivering a raw, nerve-wracking descent into modern combat. The sound design is stunning, the action is visceral, and the tension never lets… pic.twitter.com/BCCPr2pFlpTotally overwhelmed by #WARFARE. Undeniably one of the most immersive and visceral war movies I’ve ever seen — and also one that romanticizes war the least. Gripping from the moment it opens, Warfare puts the viewer right smack in the middle of a mission gone wrong. You’re… pic.twitter.com/pegDWmoZOxWARFARE thrusts viewers directly into the heart of combat, delivering a real-time intense experience that few films can match for sheer immersion. Agony, precision, disorientation, chaos, violence, and bravery unfold in relentless succession, as Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza craft… pic.twitter.com/yMcDDCvhEbWARFARE, the most intense 90 minutes of a film that I’ve seen in a long time. Incredible directing, sound, and performances, particularly Joseph Quinn. Every performance I see from him, I’m continuously blown away. Really good movie. pic.twitter.com/g62bPx8cCbWARFARE is visceral, exhilarating, and intense; it’s an all-out-assault on the senses! Unquestionably the most authentic and realistic combat film ever made, this DEMANDS to be experienced on the big screen! The sound design team better win all of the awards next year @A24 pic.twitter.com/9pNxPviiob#Warfare is a shattering, relentless & utterly devastating look at Modern Warfare. My heart is racing, my body is shocked, & I’m still breathing heavy. This isn’t just another war movie… it’s an experience. Stripping any piece of spectacle & only delivering the rawness of war pic.twitter.com/tusSzEv08WThere are no three-dimensional characters in WARFARE, all the better for Mendoza and Garland to drop us into a pressure cooker with one of the most effective sound mixes of the decade. Not much depth, but lets the audience stew in the horrors of war, asking WHY we do this. pic.twitter.com/DRCF0HPkKf#Warfare: Garland lulls viewers into a web of security before pulling the rug out, which makes it all the more devastating when it happens. Once again, the sound design takes center stage in a Garland film. I was unaware I was watching movie stars. We are there with these boys. pic.twitter.com/1p6YkhzC00Alex Garland & Ray Mendoza’s WARFARE is a film that has everything to make you feel the war in your own flesh and brings your sensibility into play. It keeps you alive at all times, w/ impressive performances & a very powerful sound. Realism in its purest form. A prodigious work! pic.twitter.com/bZTJaupDEDSign up for THR news straight to your inbox every dayGet the scoops first! Breaking news and interviews on comics, sci-fi, horror and moreSubscribe for full access to The Hollywood ReporterSend us a tip using our anonymous form.
