Warfare

Built on the blood, sweat and bullets of Spielberg's brilliant Normandy beach scene in "Saving Private Ryan", Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza's powerful new film WARFARE is a relentless beast.

After about 15 minutes of introduction to a platoon of Navy Seals led by Erik (Will Poulter) and Ray (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai), we are dropped into a silent nighttime street with them in 2006 Ramadi, Iraq.

Serving as support to a nearby Marines mission, the brigade takes over a civilian house and hunkers down.

We meet the distinct personalities of the group, each with their own specialty as sniper, interpreter, medic. They are the best of the best.

Garland & Mendoza wrote the film based on the memories of his real platoon and Garland's own memories of his time in Iraq.

As such, the film doesn't provide even the slight comfort of traditional war film tropes. There is no music in the film. There are no flashbacks to the girls back home or a young family waiting for them to return. There are no standard hero moments of convenience.

There's just a group of incredibly brave men that have each other's backs in the constant face of death.

The morning after their arrival, hostile forces begin to gather, vowing instant jihad on the Americans hunkered down in a house in the middle of their city.

When the attack on the Seal team begins, it starts an incredible hour plus of tension, horror and unblinking realism in portraying the events that unfold.

I remember watching Spielberg's cutting edge sound and photography opening weekend of his 1998 war masterpiece. As soldiers went underwater on Omaha Beach, so did our own ears. When explosions went off on the beach, our ears went dead with shock along with Tom Hanks's own.

Garland & Mendoza and their incredible sound team take that to the next level.

A huge IED explosion renders our Seal team and us, the viewer momentarily deaf, stuck in a near zero visibility as the smoke and blood clears. But even in the film's opening, middle of the night scenes, the sound team is just as effective, surrounding you with tracers far away, barking dogs and the chatter of distant gunfire. It's a haunting start that subtly cranks up the rising tension.

Ben Barker (Gravity, Civil War) and his sound team deserve an Oscar for their immersive mix. It's absolutely incredible and offers no escape from the unfolding horrors.

As casualties mount, the screams of the wounded go on and on. Blood covers the floor. Rescue teams are held and the Seal team is stranded.

Those looking for a rousing, traditional war picture ending will be left wanting.

The film does end with pictures of the real Navy Sales team members next to the actors that play them. Some key characters are seen visiting the movie set recreation of where the action actually took place.

Cosmo Jarvis (Shogun) is exceptional as Elliott, the lead sniper of the team as is Woon-A-Tai (Hell of a Summer), who's reaction to the scenario feels absolutely real.

There were moments in Garland's fantastic "Civil War" last year that left me speechless in their military firepower. The gunship helicopter on the streets of Washington DC in that film showed Garland at his most powerful.

It's classic Garland that he's chosen to follow that film with over an hour of the same jaw dropping type of action.

WARFARE is a triumphant modern take on a war film, placing you in the middle of American servicemen battling to live one more minute.

By the time the film ends with its haunting final moments in the street, you're left numb and exhausted, like you've fought the conflict at their side.

WARFARE earns an A.