*** WARFARE *** (Alex Garland)

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Cliff.Booth
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1:02a, 4/13/25
Just got out of a late showing. Definitely one of the most intense modern war movies I've ever seen. Gotta see it in the theater if you want the full impact because the sound...holy ***** That was as no-nonsense, no bull****, no dramatized dialogue, no shots of the girlfriend back home waiting by the phone, no slow-mo Michael Bay action, no over the top gratuitous GI Joe stuff as you're going to get. Rare to see a war movie where there doesn't seem to be any agenda or message whatsoever outside of war is hell, brave guys endured it for one another, end of story.

Now that 2006 feels like a long time ago, young soldiers back then are getting kinda old like me, that war has been over for long enough now to be able to digest beyond the fog of war how Iraq 2 ended, the pain and loss you're seeing hits different. Well-executed movie in every way but not a fun watch or one I can imagine wanting to see again anytime soon.
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BCSWguru
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9:04a, 4/14/25
This movie was good, however I felt like I'd seen it before. Do recommend it in a big theater type setting.
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HollywoodBQ
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In reply to BCSWguru • 8:47p, 4/15/25
AG
BCSWguru said:
This movie was good, however I felt like I'd seen it before. Do recommend it in a big theater type setting.
I thought it was pretty unique.

My wife and I are still marveling at the combat sledgehammer as a critical piece of kit for a Navy Seal Platoon.
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BurnetAggie99
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In reply to HollywoodBQ • 8:55p, 4/15/25
HollywoodBQ said:
BCSWguru said:
This movie was good, however I felt like I'd seen it before. Do recommend it in a big theater type setting.
I thought it was pretty unique.

My wife and I are still marveling at the combat sledgehammer as a critical piece of kit for a Navy Seal Platoon.


Marines like Recon/MARSOC/Infantry pending the mission will also carry sledgehammer's for breeching and so forth.
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Cliff.Booth
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In reply to HollywoodBQ • 9:14p, 4/15/25
HollywoodBQ said:
BCSWguru said:
This movie was good, however I felt like I'd seen it before. Do recommend it in a big theater type setting.
I thought it was pretty unique.

My wife and I are still marveling at the combat sledgehammer as a critical piece of kit for a Navy Seal Platoon.


I'm marveling that your wife joined you! When I got out I told my wife I was really glad she opted out. Not sure how she would have handled that.
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HollywoodBQ
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In reply to Cliff.Booth • 2:11a, 4/16/25
AG
Cliff.Booth said:
HollywoodBQ said:
BCSWguru said:
This movie was good, however I felt like I'd seen it before. Do recommend it in a big theater type setting.
I thought it was pretty unique.

My wife and I are still marveling at the combat sledgehammer as a critical piece of kit for a Navy Seal Platoon.


I'm marveling that your wife joined you! When I got out I told my wife I was really glad she opted out. Not sure how she would have handled that.
Frankly, more women need to see stuff like that so that when they get caught up living on IG / Tik-Tok, etc., they can be reminded that there are men out there who take care of some really nasty business which helps them sleep at night, completely oblivious to the forces of evil that exist in our world.

Sort of why everyone should also have to do a ride along with their local PD. Life isn't all just fun and games.

Now don't get me wrong, she wasn't in a good mood afterwards and definitely wasn't handing it over when we got home (in West Texas machismo slang terms).
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FtWorthHorn
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8:48a, 4/16/25
Saw it last weekend and thought it was great. I think it shared some DNA with Civil War in that neither one were actually that interested in providing explanations. We didn't get a mission briefing, really bare-bones setup. They're in the house doing surveillance. That's it. Reminded me a lot of Civil War, where there are a couple of scenes of setup (President's speech, the news broadcast in the hotel) but other than that you're just watching your characters in the situation and you see what they experience.
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BurnetAggie99
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In reply to FtWorthHorn • 10:35a, 4/16/25
FtWorthHorn said:
Saw it last weekend and thought it was great. I think it shared some DNA with Civil War in that neither one were actually that interested in providing explanations. We didn't get a mission briefing, really bare-bones setup. They're in the house doing surveillance. That's it. Reminded me a lot of Civil War, where there are a couple of scenes of setup (President's speech, the news broadcast in the hotel) but other than that you're just watching your characters in the situation and you see what they experience.
At the start of the movie had a statement that their mission was to run support over watch (Recon Work/Sniper Support/Target Raids for US Marines operations that were securing Ramadi
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FtWorthHorn
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In reply to BurnetAggie99 • 10:45a, 4/16/25
BurnetAggie99 said:
FtWorthHorn said:
Saw it last weekend and thought it was great. I think it shared some DNA with Civil War in that neither one were actually that interested in providing explanations. We didn't get a mission briefing, really bare-bones setup. They're in the house doing surveillance. That's it. Reminded me a lot of Civil War, where there are a couple of scenes of setup (President's speech, the news broadcast in the hotel) but other than that you're just watching your characters in the situation and you see what they experience.
At the start of the movie had a statement that their mission was to run support over watch (Recon Work/Sniper Support/Target Raids for US Marines operations that were securing Ramadi

I know - that's why I called it bare bones. Compare that to any typical war movie (capture the bridge, destroy the chateau with the Nazi meeting, save Private Ryan). There was no attempt to explain what "securing Ramadi" would mean, nor how their overwatch mission would do it. I thought it was all very intentional - there could have been lots more either preamble, where a few guys at base discuss broader status of the mission, or on-site discussion. But they chose not to include any of that.
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El Gallo Blanco
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In reply to HollywoodBQ • 11:02a, 4/16/25
HollywoodBQ said:

Frankly, more women need to see stuff like that so that when they get caught up living on IG / Tik-Tok, etc., they can be reminded that there are men out there who take care of some really nasty business which helps them sleep at night, completely oblivious to the forces of evil that exist in our world.
A-freakin-men
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PuryearAg98
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10:36p, 4/16/25
AG
Just got out of the movie, and I am just so overwhelmed, but impressed. No BS story, no added drama. Just presenting the event. And it was more than perfect.
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johncAG
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10:56p, 4/16/25
AG
After seeing this and how much I enjoyed the cast and the technical precision, I think this proves A24 can make any kind of movie it wants at this point, agenda or not. Just incredible decisions by the team running the show
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Funky Winkerbean
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11:13a, 4/18/25
AG
Very good movie. The drama didn't feel contrived, and I truly felt like I was there with them. The sound engineering was amazing. Go see it.
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BBRex
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3:49p, 4/18/25
AG
The wife and I went last night. Great movie! The way the suspense builds doesn't feel fake or overdone.
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BBRex
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In reply to BBRex • 3:49p, 4/18/25
AG
I definitely agree that you want to see this in the theater.
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Heisenberg01
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10:25a, 4/19/25
AG
Surprised no one has mentioned the genius of the opening scene. For a movie that doesn't focus on character development and jumps into the harsh reality of war from nearly the very beginning, the opening scene lets you see these soldiers as real people and not just instrumental of war. It opens with some levity and makes clear that many of these soldiers, are not far removed from being kids.

Also, interesting that Mendoza pulled this from his actual experience where they would routinely watch the video in what became a running joke before going on a mission.
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FancyKetchup14
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1:05p, 4/19/25
AG
Very, very good film. The opening scene with the Eric Prydz video felt so 2006. Just an amazing callback to that time in pop culture.

The acting was great. Really enjoyed that there wasn't anything overly political or back story given. They did a great job of building dread and tension up until it really kicked off.

Whoever did the sound design/engineering deserves some kind of award.

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ArmyAg2002
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4:25p, 4/19/25
AG
Heisenberg01 said:
Surprised no one has mentioned the genius of the opening scene. For a movie that doesn't focus on character development and jumps into the harsh reality of war from nearly the very beginning, the opening scene lets you see these soldiers as real people and not just instrumental of war. It opens with some levity and makes clear that many of these soldiers, are not far removed from being kids.

Also, interesting that Mendoza pulled this from his actual experience where they would routinely watch the video in what became a running joke before going on a mission.


Haven't seen the movie yet, but the commercials I have seen with that scene made me think they got it right. We used to watch that video to "remember what we're fighting for" before saddling up for a mission. Jessica Simpson's These Boots are Made for Walkin and the Miami Dolphins Cheerleaders doing Call me Maybe were also popular.
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Funky Winkerbean
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In reply to Heisenberg01 • 8:34p, 4/19/25
AG
Opening track..

https://open.spotify.com/track/0CvELCKAsz9ymRXcuATHWN?si=vQve08y0QVCeaMOKrlNB1A
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johncAG
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9:00p, 4/19/25
AG
Gotta correct you in that the opening track is actually Call on Me by Eric Prydz....which samples Valerie
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Cliff.Booth
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10:39p, 4/19/25
Another thing that separates this movie from others covering modern wars is that during all of the sustained enemy contact and exchanges of fire, you rarely clearly see an enemy being taken out. In a lot of movies, like Lone Survivor or American Sniper for example, you're seeing our guys being hit but you're seeing far more of their guys getting schwacked, including close-in shots. I remember reading from several battlefield memoirs that in the intensity of battle you're often shooting at human shapes in the distance but rarely ever know if you're hitting anyone. This movie definitely leaned that direction. I gather a lot of aspects like that gave veterans watching this a sense that it was closer to things they experienced in combat
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Funky Winkerbean
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In reply to johncAG • 7:19a, 4/20/25
AG
johncAG said:
Gotta correct you in that the opening track is actually Call on Me by Eric Prydz....which samples Valerie
I knew that..I was testing you.
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agracer
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9:42a, 4/21/25
AG
Saw this with my youngest son this weekend. He is just finished TBS as a USMC 2ndLT and getting ready to attend Infantry Officer Course training.

It was a good movie and gave a great perspective on what urban combat is like. Almost complete chaos and WTF is going on. Thought it was crazy they were so concerned about the sledgehammer and getting it back. However, I left hoping we don't get into another useless war sending our sons' overseas to fight and die. I knew his mom had no interest in seeing it and I'm glad she did not. She would be freaking out and even more worried than she already is. Older son was in for 4-years but never deployed to a combat zone and she prayed for his safety every night. Now she prays for the youngest every night.
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Camo
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In reply to Cliff.Booth • 10:30a, 4/21/25
I harped on this to the folks after we saw it.

"This story is taken from their memories" --- it stayed true to that. No cut scenes to a bad guy being shot, no cut scenes to what the enemy was discussing, etc. This was purely from their actual memory and with that anything else would have been an assumption on their part.

It was raw in every light imaginable
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Troy91
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In reply to agracer • 10:36a, 4/21/25
AG
agracer said:
Saw this with my youngest son this weekend. He is just finished TBS as a USMC 2ndLT and getting ready to attend Infantry Officer Course training.

It was a good movie and gave a great perspective on what urban combat is like. Almost complete chaos and WTF is going on. Thought it was crazy they were so concerned about the sledgehammer and getting it back. However, I left hoping we don't get into another useless war sending our sons' overseas to fight and die. I knew his mom had no interest in seeing it and I'm glad she did not. She would be freaking out and even more worried than she already is. Older son was in for 4-years but never deployed to a combat zone and she prayed for his safety every night. Now she prays for the youngest every night.
My son commissions on May 9 and has TBS in June. Mom has declined to go see the movie for similar reasons.

I need to figure out how to get us to the theater together before he ships out.
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Cliff.Booth
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In reply to agracer • 1:42p, 4/21/25
agracer said:
Saw this with my youngest son this weekend. He is just finished TBS as a USMC 2ndLT and getting ready to attend Infantry Officer Course training.

It was a good movie and gave a great perspective on what urban combat is like. Almost complete chaos and WTF is going on. Thought it was crazy they were so concerned about the sledgehammer and getting it back. However, I left hoping we don't get into another useless war sending our sons' overseas to fight and die. I knew his mom had no interest in seeing it and I'm glad she did not. She would be freaking out and even more worried than she already is. Older son was in for 4-years but never deployed to a combat zone and she prayed for his safety every night. Now she prays for the youngest every night.


This is part of why movies like this are culturally and politically needed. I'm glad that Warfare left out the overt politics and didn't try too hard, but I hoped people would leave the theater thinking...why were they put in that position? Was it worth it for them? Even for those who came out unscathed, what does that do to your brain? How must their families have felt? Americans truly need to see movies like this to help them weigh whether or not putting our young soldiers in harm's way is worth the costs. Not to start a political conversation, but today it's pretty easy for some to claim they'd be ok putting US troops on the ground in Ukraine because a) they have no idea what war is like and b) it wouldn't be their son/husband/brother going into the meatgrinder.

Siri, play Fortunate Son.
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SoTxAg
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10:13p, 4/22/25
AG
Saw it tonight, good flick with great attention to detail.
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Lathspell
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1:18p, 5/27/25
AG
Been wanting to see this for a while, but watching this review by DJ Shipley (former SEAL and DevGru operator), I had to watch it. According to him, it is the most realistic depiction of warfare we've ever had in movies. I was interested to hear how not only the big things were so authentic, but also the little things like that video at the very beginning. He talks about how there were only a few different videos they would watch on repeat in between missions, just to give your mind a reprieve.

As someone who loves many war movies, I've started to really appreciate the very few out there that maintain authenticity versus the ones that don't seem to care about the authenticity. Even though I've never been in the military, it's very obvious when movies abandon authenticity. I thought this movie was a must watch for everyone and it is another great reminder that great movies can still be made. A24 made an amazing movie for around $20MM and Disney has failed to make a great movie for years with budgets nearing $200MM.

Very interesting to hear from the real deal:

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Troy91
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In reply to Troy91 • 5:04p, 5/27/25
AG
Troy91 said:
agracer said:
Saw this with my youngest son this weekend. He is just finished TBS as a USMC 2ndLT and getting ready to attend Infantry Officer Course training.

It was a good movie and gave a great perspective on what urban combat is like. Almost complete chaos and WTF is going on. Thought it was crazy they were so concerned about the sledgehammer and getting it back. However, I left hoping we don't get into another useless war sending our sons' overseas to fight and die. I knew his mom had no interest in seeing it and I'm glad she did not. She would be freaking out and even more worried than she already is. Older son was in for 4-years but never deployed to a combat zone and she prayed for his safety every night. Now she prays for the youngest every night.
My son commissions on May 9 and has TBS in June. Mom has declined to go see the movie for similar reasons.

I need to figure out how to get us to the theater together before he ships out.
Luckily, it came out on streaming and we watched it as a family. Great movie that is hyper realistic.

The world gets very small while on a mission and this movie showed that. You just do the next right thing as you have no control over what already happened.
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Max Power
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In reply to Lathspell • 5:51a, 5/28/25
AG
Lathspell said:
Been wanting to see this for a while, but watching this review by DJ Shipley (former SEAL and DevGru operator), I had to watch it. According to him, it is the most realistic depiction of warfare we've ever had in movies. I was interested to hear how not only the big things were so authentic, but also the little things like that video at the very beginning. He talks about how there were only a few different videos they would watch on repeat in between missions, just to give your mind a reprieve.

As someone who loves many war movies, I've started to really appreciate the very few out there that maintain authenticity versus the ones that don't seem to care about the authenticity. Even though I've never been in the military, it's very obvious when movies abandon authenticity. I thought this movie was a must watch for everyone and it is another great reminder that great movies can still be made. A24 made an amazing movie for around $20MM and Disney has failed to make a great movie for years with budgets nearing $200MM.

Very interesting to hear from the real deal:

Shawn Ryan's podcast with him is outstanding, easily top 3 if not the best one.
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Head Ninja In Charge
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3:08p, 6/15/25
AG
Just finished it. This is immediately one of the ten best war films I've ever watched. Maybe top five.
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Apache
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3:25p, 6/29/25
AG
Quote:
This is immediately one of the ten best war films I've ever watched. Maybe top five.
Amen. This straddled the line between movie and embedded film making in feel.
No fluff whatsoever. I'm still processing this one & will be for a long time.

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javajaws
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In reply to johncAG • 9:19a, 6/30/25
AG
johncAG said:
Gotta correct you in that the opening track is actually Call on Me by Eric Prydz....which samples Valerie
Little known fact - Eric Prydz hasn't played Call on Me in over 20 years...until a few months ago here in Austin at the Concourse Project (was the last song of his set). I was there and left 5 minutes before he played it - doh!

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Apache
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In reply to javajaws • 11:41a, 6/30/25
AG
That's awesome! Hopefully you were jamming & not standing around filming it w/your phone!
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suburban cowboy
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9:01p, 9/2/25
AG
Streamed this last night and was enamored by this film.
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