Stanisland Magazine

Opinion: The production house’s latest movie is just more American propaganda.

Great! Another American war film, how original! Considering the events that are unfolding globally, A24’s new movie Warfare is a project in poor taste. With an abundance of American war movies on the market, the ‘poor me’ narrative is now unbelievable.

Do we really need yet another Iraq War movie? Haven’t we seen the perspective of an invading force in a foreign land enough times already? From this question arises a simple paradox to overcome, and the answer is: no.

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“The Gulf War [Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait] in the 1990s lasted five days on the ground. I can’t tell you if the use of force in Iraq today would last five days or five weeks or five months. But it certainly isn’t going to last any longer than that.”

Donald Rumsfeld, former US secretary of defense, November 14, 2002.

It was a sickening conflict built on a dangerous sales pitch without a shred of evidence, and now, 20 years later, Hollywood is still attempting to profit from an already disgusting violation of human rights.

What on earth can yet another movie about an illegal war show us that we don’t know or haven’t already seen? We can all guess, and this just seems like a lazy cash grab. I hope I am wrong, I really do, but it appears I may not be.

The Plot

Unsurprisingly, it follows a group of soldiers who are caught up in a hostile situation.

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In order to survive, they must fight their way out (how original). The story is based on the memories of technical adviser and former US soldier Ray Mendoza.

New Perspectives Needed

The world is well-versed in the nature of war and the politics that drive it. The invasion of Iraq, driven by falsified documents and fallacies, not only destabilised the Middle East but also heightened tensions around the world.

Millions of Muslims worldwide became the subject of bigotry and vitriol at the hands of far-right figures and newspapers. To this day, the effects continue to reverberate throughout the global community.

“Stuff happens,” – Donald Rumsfeld when asked about violence and lawlessness in Iraq.

Millions of Iraqis were killed in the onslaught carried out by coalition forces. Yet, not one movie has emerged from the hills of Hollywood to highlight their perspective. This underscores the bigotry of the movie industry, which continues to belittle minority communities in service of misguided patriotic propaganda.

Too Many War Films

From The Hurt Locker, The Green Zone and American Sniper, not one movie put forth the fall out of the loss of families in the Middle East. If anything, it derides the people of the region, and seeks to entertain tabloid headlines to embolden foreign policy.

The outcome of this bloody war catalysed the reality of a conflict so brutal, it gave rise to dangerous groups such as Daesh and Al Nusra. 

It doesn’t matter what perspective of the US Army you spin; we don’t need these films anymore. The propaganda has gone far enough, and this new release epitomises all that is wrong and lacking in the world. 

When will the Warfare movie be released?

The new movie will be released, April 11, 2025.

Reviews: Audience and Critic Reactions

Critique of the film has been a mixed bag. While some newspapers have praised it as “Raw,” “Gripping” and “Viseceral,” others have not been so forgiving. The Independent said: “All Warfare has to offer, inevitably, is the violence itself, stripped from its source,” while The Reel Bits, said: “If Warfare has a point to make about the senselessness of war—or of this war in particular—it’s buried in the text.”

The Guardian questioned the credibility of its ending: “Garland and Mendoza’s detailed reconstruction is based on memories of actual participants. However, the film falters by featuring awkward closing credits showing pictures of actors and their real-life counterparts, reducing its impact to a reality TV-like presentation.”