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Warfare is an action film based on real-life events that took place during the Iraq War, involving a United States Navy SEAL team. Veteran Ray Mendoza serves as co-writer and co-director on the project, drawing from his experience on the field with his platoon on November 19, 2006, in the aftermath of the Battle of Ramadi. He is joined in directing the film by Academy Award-nominated director Alex Garland.
Disclaimer: The following article contains the author’s opinion and spoilers from Warfare. Reader’s discretion is advised.
Focusing on a single mission carried out by a Navy SEAL team during the conflict, the narrative unfolds in real time, without edits or even a background score to embellish the retelling. The film ends with the US troops making a retreat and local insurgents coming out of their hiding spots to survey the damage. It is a realistic portrayal of how events unfold on the battlefield, and fights usually come to a sudden end without a climactic showdown.
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The abrupt ending of Warfare makes sense in the context of the film, as the creators wish to share with the audience the look, sound, and feel of actual combat. Distributed by A24, the 95-minute film was released in theaters across the United States on April 11, 2025. It stars an ensemble cast that includes D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Joseph Quinn, and Charles Melton.
How did Alex Garland decide on Warfare’s ending shot?
In an interview with Collider, Garland, who first collaborated with Mendoza for the 2024 speculative fiction film Civil War, stated that he did not want Warfare to portray anything that could not be sourced from the memory of those who were actually involved with the brutal incident.
“We didn't put anything in the film that wasn't in some way verifiable by a memory, wherever that memory was from. Nothing in the film is an invention,” he said.
He explained his vision of the house in which the US troops are seen taking shelter, becoming another character in the movie.
“Once you've left the house, once you've left the street, in a sense, that street shot is like a wide shot of that character in some strange way. Once you've left it, the film just feels over.”
During production, the real-life counterparts of the actors playing various roles were reportedly present on set. The credit sequence features photographs of their involvement in the project, which, for Garland, marks the true ending of the film.
Do Elliot and Sam survive in Warfare?
The fight in the film begins with a grenade being thrown into the room where Navy SEAL trooper Elliot is positioned, thus injuring him for the first time. When attempts are made to evacuate him, an IED explodes, injuring him further and wounding the platoon medic, Sam.
Despite their severe injuries, both Elliot and Sam are successfully evacuated from the location and survive in the end. The urgency of the situation in Warfare is heightened by the two soldiers fighting for their lives through most of the film without engaging insurgents in active battle. While the credits featuring the real veterans confirm that they made it out alive, Elliott Miller is shown to have lost his left leg and his ability to speak in the aftermath.
Warfare has been rated 'R' and is currently playing in theaters.
