Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza‘s “Warfare” is getting mostly positive notices from critics … 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and 76 on Metacritic. It’s certainly a welcome oasis in what’s so far been a tepid year for American cinema.
We’ve been hungry for a strong U.S. studio film this year, and “Warfare,” alongside “Black Bag,” is one of the very few exceptions of 2025, so far. We might also get another one next weekend with Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” (which I still haven’t seen).
“Warfare” takes place in “real-time,” but it’s not a ticking clock movie. It’s a true story about a troop of American soldiers, on an undisclosed mission during the Iraq War, who find themselves trapped in a firefight without support. The result is relentless, provocative, and visceral.
“Warfare” has been also getting good audience scores. That “A-" from CinemaScore is great, and higher than Garland’s “Civil War” at B-; in fact, it's the highest grade an A24 film has ever received from CinemaScore. Meanwhile, on PostTrak, it’s 89% positive and 79% definite recommend.
Sadly, despite the strong scores, audiences aren’t turning out for “Warfare” as it’s only aiming for an $8M debut weekend — the production budget was only $20M. Hopefully, word of mouth spreads and it holds steady with some strong legs come next weekend.
Now, it’s your turn. I gather many of our readers made the trek to theaters this weekend to watch “Warfare.” What did you think? Does it deserve the praise?
As expected, Snyder's latest is being torn apart by TIFF attendees. No mercy given. The film, which had its world premiere this evening, is being called by some one of the worst movies to ever premiere at the festival.