The first impressions for Warfare (2025) arrived with the force of a sudden shock, hinting that it may redefine how modern combat is portrayed on screen. Directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, the upcoming A24 film is set in Iraq, 2006, during a brutal Iraq War that many audiences might think they have seen before. Yet the footage suggests something different: a narrative unfolding in real time, placing viewers directly beside a team of Navy SEALs as they fight for their lives. What makes Warfare stand out at this early stage is its promise of raw authenticity, thanks in large part to Mendoza’s experience as a Navy SEAL. Garland, known for works like Ex Machina and Annihilation, has shown he can blend psychological depth with cinematic flair. By collaborating closely with Mendoza, who co-directs and co-wrote the script, he seems ready to abandon conventional storytelling rhythms in favor of an unfiltered, moment-to-moment approach that never lets the viewer catch their breath.
The trailer immerses us in chaos. We see a group of American Navy SEALs trapped inside the home of an Iraqi family, forced to hold their position in a hostile environment. Bullets rip through thin walls, people shout urgent orders, and the confined space becomes a crucible that tests the soldiers’ resolve. There is no safe haven, no distant command center offering guidance, and no elegant long shots to remind us that this is all staged for the camera. Instead, the tension feels immediate, as if the filmmakers want us to feel the weight of the gear, the heat trapped in the house, and the dread of what might lurk outside each doorway. It is a deliberate choice that may challenge viewers who expect the usual narrative beats, but that is precisely why it is so intriguing.
Mendoza’s military background offers Warfare (2025) a key advantage. In previous collaborations, like Civil War, he served as a military advisor, ensuring that the film’s action scenes carried a palpable sense of realism. Now, as a co-director and co-writer, he is shaping the entire project from the ground up. The tagline of Warfare (2025), stating that everything is based on memory, hints that the story may draw heavily from Mendoza’s own experiences. While the filmmakers have been careful not to pinpoint which real-life events inspired them, it is no secret that Mendoza earned a Silver Star for his actions during the Battle of Ramadi in 2006. Though the film is not necessarily a direct retelling of those events, the parallels are clear. This is no grand chronicle of war but a focused portrait of one unit’s fight to survive. When stories are filtered through lived experience, they gain layers of credibility and depth that often elude more fictionalized accounts.
Garland’s past work suggests he is drawn to projects that push audiences beyond their comfort zone. In Ex Machina, he asked viewers to consider the nature of humanity when faced with artificial intelligence. In Annihilation, he explored how people respond to an environmental anomaly that defies understanding. With Warfare (2025), he seems to be testing how far he can go in stripping away the barriers that typically separate viewers from the characters.
Instead of providing a calm vantage point, he places the audience in the line of fire. The camera remains close and the timeframe compressed. This is not a story told in retrospect, with ample time to reflect and analyze the situation. Everything unfolds as it happens. Each bullet fired, each command shouted, and each injury sustained has an immediate impact with no pause for reflection. It is a bold approach that might leave viewers breathless and uneasy.
The cast assembled for Warfare (2025) bolsters the film’s potential. D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai portrays Mendoza’s character, bringing an intensity and vulnerability to the role. Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henrique Zaga, and Charles Melton round out an ensemble of rising and established talents. These performers have the challenge of giving their characters depth and individuality under extreme circumstances. They must convey fear, camaraderie, doubt, and determination without the usual narrative support systems. The trailer shows only snippets, but their expressions and posture suggest that viewers will see soldiers grappling not just with external enemies, but also with internal conflicts. In a scenario where death can come at any moment, the smallest gesture or glance carries weight.
If authenticity is key to Warfare’s appeal, its stylistic choices reinforce that authenticity. The trailer’s framing, lighting, and sound design suggest a refusal to glamorize or romanticize combat. Instead of smooth tracking shots and triumphant music, we get harsh angles and sudden bursts of noise. The environment looks lived-in and fraught with tension. The house, once a family’s home, becomes a prison that traps soldiers and civilians alike. The line between safe and dangerous spaces blurs, and no corner feels secure. This granular realism could be uncomfortable, but it is also what sets the film apart. Many war movies rely on spectacle to engage the audience. Warfare (2025), at least in its trailer form, relies on immersion and empathy, demanding the viewer’s participation and attention.
The film is set for release in 2025, and anticipation has already begun building. Although Civil War, another collaboration between Garland and Mendoza, took a broader scope by exploring a speculative conflict within the United States, the first impressions of Warfare (2025) suggest that it seems determined to stay close to the ground, focusing on a single operation in a single setting. This tighter scope may allow for deeper emotional resonance. Instead of treating the soldiers as interchangeable figures in camouflage, the movie seems poised to show them as individuals with distinct personalities, relationships, and reasons for fighting. Similarly, the Iraqi family caught in the crossfire is not reduced to mere background details. If the trailer’s tone is any indication, their situation matters just as much as the soldiers’ does. The film may prompt viewers to consider how war affects everyone in its path, soldier and civilian alike.
By blending Garland’s narrative ingenuity with Mendoza’s first-person knowledge, Warfare may showcase what happens when filmmakers commit to telling a war story without traditional narrative crutches. The lack of neat framing devices or simplistic heroics could alienate some viewers, but it may also attract those who crave something more truthful, or at least more immediate.
A24’s involvement is noteworthy. The studio has a reputation for backing projects that challenge conventional storytelling. With Warfare, this ethos continues, as the film refuses to present a polished or easily digestible version of war. Instead, it delivers confrontation at every turn. The real-time aspect means decisions cannot be re-evaluated or retaken. The soldiers, and the audience with them, must live with the consequences of each action.
While Warfare (2025) might seem daunting, it could also prove cathartic. War films often wrestle with trauma, memory, and the psychological scars left behind. Because this story is based on memory, it is possible that what we see onscreen will not only reveal the outward struggle to survive, but also the internal reckoning that soldiers undergo. The brutal honesty suggested by the trailer may make it a difficult watch, yet it might also give viewers a more profound understanding of what it feels like to face danger at close range. Without the buffer of time, distance, or narrative trickery, viewers can confront the reality of armed conflict in a way that few films allow.
As the release date approaches, the main question remains: will Warfare live up to the tension, authenticity, and emotional weight promised by its trailer? High expectations can be a double-edged sword. Films that promise to break new ground often face intense scrutiny. However, early impressions lean toward optimism. Garland’s track record as a writer and director, combined with Mendoza’s firsthand experience and the raw immediacy of the trailer, all contribute to a sense that this could be a rare achievement in war cinema. Instead of offering a detached perspective, it aims to push audiences into the fray and force them to engage with the uncertainty, fear, and desperation that define life in a combat zone.
If Warfare succeeds, it might change the conversation about how war stories are told. Instead of expecting sweeping drama and recognizable narrative arcs, viewers may find themselves grappling with something more fragmented, tense, and disquieting. This kind of storytelling aligns with the complicated nature of war itself—unpredictable, relentless, and morally fraught. The film’s choice to show events in real time may prompt new discussions about how film can convey not just the facts of what happened, but also the feeling of what it was like to be there. In doing so, Warfare could become an influential work, one that encourages filmmakers and audiences alike to question familiar tropes and to seek new ways of representing experiences often flattened into spectacle.
For now, all we have is the trailer and the promise of what lies ahead. Yet sometimes a single glimpse is enough to spark interest and raise expectations. Warfare may ultimately offer more than just a compelling narrative; it might provide an immersive encounter with the psychological and physical toll of modern combat. War is messy, urgent, and unforgiving, and this film’s approach suggests it will mirror that reality rather than sanitize it. Many viewers have grown accustomed to war movies that keep a comfortable distance, but the first impressions of Warfare (2025) suggest that it seems to remove that safety net. If the full film maintains the intensity hinted at in the trailer, it will likely be remembered as a bold, challenging, and possibly redefining moment in the representation of war on screen.
