Warfare review: A fine young cast and dirt-on-the-lens effectiveness
"Warfare's fine young ensemble — including Kit Connor, Will Poulter and D’Pharaoh Woon-a-Tai — commits to the grind of this war epic"
By Guy Lodge
Just one year after his nervy dystopian action film Civil War, director Alex Garland is back in the combat zone.
This time he’s returning to the real world and collaborating with co-director and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza for a pummelling portrayal of the latter’s experiences as a Navy SEAL moving through insurgent territory in Iraq in 2006.
It’s a film heavier on sight, sound and sensation than narrative: there’s no glory in war here, just the visceral horror of surviving the chaos. It’s shot with bruising, dirt-on-the-lens effectiveness, while a fine young ensemble — including Kit Connor, Will Poulter and D’Pharaoh Woon-a-Tai as Mendoza — commits to the grind.
Read our exclusive chat with Warfare star Kit Connor here. In the interview, Connor speaks about how his experience working on the war epic differed from that of filming his starmaking turn in the gooey Netflix teen romance Heartstopper, and the “real love” that developed between him and his fellow castmates.
We also caught up with Will Poulter who told us about how “intimidating” it was working with such a cast of heartthrobs like Connor and fellow castmate Charles Melton. You can watch that conversation here.