Last month, I spoke to a person who had seen “Warfare” and swore that it’s, by far, Alex Garland’s best film. They weren’t a big fan of his previous efforts, and were shell shocked by how good this latest one was.
A trailer for “Warfare” has now been released via A24 which Garland actually co-directs with Iraq veteran Ray Mendoza. Mendoza, a veteran, is a war expert having collaborated with the History Channel as a producer on the documentary series “The Warfighters.” His IMDb doesn’t show any directing credits to his name, so this film with Garland is technically his feature directing debut.
“Warfare” is said to be an “extremely intense” film that doesn’t shy away from the violence and gore that comes with war. It’s a “powerful experience.” What Garland and Mendoza seem to have done is take the idea from “Civil War,” about why people senselessly and tribally kill each other, and blow it up into a single, 90-minute action sequence. Relentless, provocative, and powerfully anti-war.
The film takes place in “real time” but it’s not like a ticking clock movie. It’s a true story about a troop of American soldiers, in an undisclosed mission during the Iraq War, finding themselves trapped in a firefight without support.
“Warfare” is being called a “small-scale” movie in terms of production. Pretty much all taking place in a single location, a house, and featuring a small 20-something person ensemble of soldiers. It’s not character-driven, and much more about the experience of war, rather than having character arcs, similar to “Dunkirk.”
The young cast includes Charles Melton, Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Cosmo Jarvis and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.
Garland is coming off “Civil War,” his fifth collaboration with A24 — the most expensive A24 film had ever produced up to that point, with a budget of around $50 million. Spurred by strong reviews, the film ended up earning $126M worldwide, and is the second highest grossing film in A24 history.
Garland’s other credits include “Ex-Machina,” “Annihilation,” “Dredd” and “Men.” He’s also the screenwriter behind “28 Days Later,” “Sunshine,” and “Never Let Me Go.”
“Hope,” Na’s first film in ten years — his last one being the exemplary “The Wailing” —is a gloriously messy, blood-soaked sci-fi epic that may become a cult classic despite—or because of—its polarizing nature.