New Film ‘Warfare’ Offers Harsh Realities of Iraq War Experience

LOS ANGELES, April 8, 2025 — The new film “Warfare,” co-directed by acclaimed filmmaker Alex Garland and former US Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza, presents a harrowing depiction of a 2006 mission gone wrong during the Iraq War.

The film features a vibrant opening scene with Eric Prydz‘s nostalgic 2004 hit “Call on Me” playing as a group of young soldiers enjoy a moment of levity in a military barracks near Baghdad. This lighthearted atmosphere quickly shifts, however, as the team, portrayed by a cast of young actors including D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, and Joseph Quinn, find themselves in a desperate fight for survival during a surveillance operation in Ramadi.

Culled directly from Mendoza’s memories and interviews with his former unit, “Warfare” aims to accurately depict the chaos and camaraderie that define a soldier’s experience in combat. Mendoza stated, “Traditionally, the people who are making movies about war haven’t experienced it,” emphasizing a rift that the film seeks to bridge.

According to Garland, who previously collaborated with Mendoza on the film “Civil War,” recreating the narrative was akin to forensic reconstruction. “It’s an exercise in trying to recreate a real sequence of events as accurately as possible,” he explained. As the film progresses, the actors are enveloped in intense depictions of both combat situations and the downtime soldiers often experience.

The movie spans a compact 95 minutes, yet it carefully captures the tension between moments of idleness and combat. Quinn, who portrays a soldier named Sam, remarked, “There’s so much downtime, and these men have to fill that downtime. The contrast between being idle and bored and then in a very perilous, dangerous situation is quite interesting.”

In preparation for their roles, the cast underwent a rigorous three-week boot camp where they received training in military tactics and communications. Poulter noted that this experience not only readied them for the film but fostered a deep bond among the cast members. “It gave us a condensed technical skill set in order to play a Navy SEAL and also bonded us in an amazing way,” he said.

As the film dives deeper into the narrative, it begins to reflect the unpredictability and messiness of warfare. The soldiers’ experiences are captured with raw intensity, illuminating the emotional toll that combat takes on individuals. Mendoza discussed the therapeutic aspects of creating the film, stating, “It’s a never-ending process…finding a new career in this industry – storytelling – I felt was therapeutic.”

The film concludes with a dedication to Lieutenant Elliott, capturing the essence of brotherhood among the soldiers as many cast members commemorated their bond with matching tattoos reading “call on me.” This gesture symbolizes their unity and the shared struggles they faced during and after the production.

Set to premiere on April 11, 2025, “Warfare” strives to challenge traditional Hollywood portrayals of war, offering viewers a visceral, candid exploration of the realities faced by soldiers on the front line.