Earlier this year, a new Iraq war action film, with a British creative behind it, arrived in cinemas to critical acclaim.
Warfare is set over a few hours in November 2006, when the Navy SEALs find themselves under attack with seriously injured members of their platoon in desperate need of rescue.
The true story is co-directed by Alex Garland and veteran Ray Mendoza, who was there and is portrayed in the film.
During the shoot, other real-life Navy SEALs were on set to help guide the actors playing them in the grave situation that left some with life-changing injuries.
The impressive ensemble cast is dominated by Brits playing the American platoon (Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor) as they take control of a house and position a sniper to monitor jihadi activity in the area.
Free of Hollywood gloss, Warfare’s historically accurate portrayal moves between the SEAL’s juvenile banter (dancing to 00s pop hit Call On Me) to the tense mundanity of waiting for something to happen in the calm before the storm. Of course, when it does, all hell breaks loose – and then some – in this Iraq War Band of Brothers. Caught in the chaotic aftermath of insurgent explosions, the SEALs find themselves surrounded and in need of immediate rescue as two of their critically injured men bleed puddles, screaming for morphine on the dusty ground. What follows is a factual recreation of the platoon’s desperate situation against the clock.
Warfare is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video in 4K.