After their collaboration on the film, Civil War last year, British director Alex Garland and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza came together to tell the true story of a Navy SEAL mission Mendoza went on in 2006- Warfare. The film is exacting and visceral in its portrayal of these events and tells the story in real time based only on memories of those on the mission. Audience opinions really depend on how you see the war it revolves around, as it does little else than trap you in the SEAL’s shoes with a harrowing accuracy.

Audiences feel the stress and adrenaline of these events while watching the film and it could propel them into one of two directions, a sense of dread and anxiety or a sort of excitement. One student who had a more positive reaction to the film was senior Dominic Denton, who said, “it was really a lot but it was kind of inspiring to see how much the soldiers had to go through.” Other students reacted in a very different way to the film, such as sophomore Presleigh Gleason, who said, “I wouldn’t have willingly gone to this movie if I knew how intense it would be,” she continues, “I just saw it because I like a couple of the actors.” 

The cast is full of up and coming male actors, all getting out of their comfort zones. It consists of actors mostly known for lighter, more unserious projects, like Heartstopper’s Kit Conner, Riverdale’s Charles Melton, Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn, rom-com regular, Noah Centineo, and more. All the actors do as good of a job as they can, considering how little the film fleshes out their characters. A standout is Joseph Quinn, who really brought a lot of gravity to the horrors of the situation. “The way he screams in the movie is really bone chilling,” says sophomore Isabella Vienne, “it stayed in my head even after the movie ended.”

This movie isn’t something easily recommendable. Maybe it’d be more enjoyable to those who are fans of more action-based films or are really intrigued by the U.S. military, specifically their involvement in the Middle East. For the average teenager though, just about anything else in the theater would be a better time.