I'll admit it: I was this close to giving up on Alex Garland. Civil War (2024) had all the ingredients of a knockout—A24's moody aesthetic, Kirsten Dunst's steely gravitas, that terrifying “WHAT KIND OF AMERICAN ARE YOU?” trailer—but it left me emotionally stranded. The tension? MIA. The stakes? Vague as a politician's promise.
Then came Warfare.
Co-directed by Garland and former Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza, this isn't just a course correction—it's a full-throttle, white-knuckle reckoning. Based on a real-life Special Ops mission, the film grips you by the throat from the first shadowy breach of a hostile compound and doesn't let go. Every window could hide a sniper. Every silence screams. By the evacuation scene, my palms were sweating like a rookie in a firefight.
Why ‘Warfare' Works Where ‘Civil War' Faltered
- Tension That Cuts
- Civil War's journalists felt like observers in their own story. Warfare's soldiers? You're in the helmet, counting bullets, flinching at every creak. Garland and Mendoza weaponize suspense like Hitchcock with a flak jacket.
- Real Stakes, Real People
- Civil War's faceless factions made it hard to care. Warfare's SEALs? You learn their quirks mid-gunfight. No exposition dumps—just raw humanity under fire. (Fun fact: Mendoza's combat experience bleeds into every frame. This isn't war-ish—it's war.)
- Sound Design as a Character
The gunfire doesn't pop—it punches. The quiet? Deafening. Streaming it on Prime robbed me of the theater's bass, but even at home, my dog hid under the couch.
The Garland Paradox
Garland's always been a genius of controlled chaos (Annihilation's bear scene, anyone?), but Civil War's restraint backfired. Warfare proves he's at his best when collaborating with those who've lived the madness—Mendoza's boots-on-the-ground perspective is the secret sauce.
Warfare isn't just 2025's best film so far—it's Garland's redemption arc. If Civil War was a distant explosion, this is a grenade in your lap. Stream it. Then watch it again. And pray for Oscar voters to do their damn job.
