Warfare (2025)

Warfare is another film that I knew very little about. I saw a trailer and was quite intrigued by it so I went into this with the hope that this might be a hidden gem and that proved very much to be the case. The set up of the film is quite simple, a bunch of soldiers are on a surveillance mission in Iraq and then some insurgents start attacking them and the film follows this group of soldiers as they try and escape. The film is told in real time which is one of many reasons why the film is one of the most tense films that I have seen for a very long time. The film starts off with one of the most bizarre beginnings I can recall seeing for a very long time if not ever. As the film begins we see the music video for Call on Me by Eric Prydz and then cuts to a bunch of soldiers enjoying the video. On reflection, this is done on purpose because for the rest of the 96 minutes the film doesn't allow for anything approaching happiness or enjoyment so it's like the directors saying ‘enjoy this, cause this is as good as it gets’. 

There is a mixture of familiar names/faces and new people. Will Poulter immediately stood out to me having enjoyed his performance in ‘Death of a Unicorn’ and ‘Black Mirror: Plaything’ and you couldn't find three more different roles in a short space of time. He is really good at it and pulls it off very well. Another familiar face is Joseph Quinn who was one of the emperors in ‘Gladiator II’ and soon to play George Harrison in one of the Beatles movies, plays Sam who does start to fall apart (understandably so) as the action unfolds and like Poulter he delivers a solid performance and the thing with the entire cast of soldiers is that there isn't a weak one among them. They all pass convincingly as soldiers and this helps to create this world so effectively. Another reason why I loved this film was that it in a singular setting and I love films that do this although making it work is a completely different matter and the tension that runs through the film makes the film feel very claustrophobic.

This film is co-directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland with Mendoza having served in the military and it's clear that the someone with military experience is involved because the way that the action unfolds feels like someone who knows every facet of the terminology used and with war films it's getting harder and harder to make these films feel special and yet this film was totally immersive and captivating. This is a superb film, it has a straightforward plot and yet it is told in such a way that I was never bored and thought that the performances along with the directing help create a scenario that no one would ever want to be in. Superb stuff.