Warfare

Alex Garland found his niche regarding war movies. A step up from his previous endeavor, “Warfare” is, in the truest sense, a nightmare. One that our troops endure in battle. Hell, any troops around the world. And it is absolutely not war propaganda. There is enough here to shake you in your seat and be grateful you are not overseas. The story is rather simple and just know it’s a Navy Seal team operation needing an evacuation. Its biggest weakness, from a format perspective, is there are no characters to attach. But that’s the point. We don’t need backstories when we’re focused on a mission and worrying who will survive or not. You will honestly forget about the story as you’re absorbing all the noise. Personally, this was maybe one of the first times I’ve ever seen a movie and felt shellshocked in the theater. Whoever did the sound design for this needs to be recognized for greatness, and also a scolding. My seat was shaking, from the sounds of gunfire to explosions, and all the way to the screaming. So much screaming it felt like it was becoming invasive. All the noise did at some point. “Warfare” is a two sided monster: on one side, it is a thank you to our soldiers, paying respect not sugarcoating the violence and pain. On the other side, war is a terrifying concept. You choose what kind of message you want to take away. For me, it’s the best movie of the year so far.