MOVIE REVIEW: WARFARE

 

A surveillance mission goes wrong for a platoon of American Navy SEALs in insurgent territory in Iraq.

Director: Ray Mendoza; Alex Garland

Cast: D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith, Michael Gandolfini, Adain Bradley, Noah Centineo, Evan Holtzman, Henry Zaga, Charles Melton

Release Date: April 11, 2025

Genre: Action, Drama, War

Rated R for intense war violence and bloody/grisly images, and language throughout.

Runtime: 1h 35m

Review:

Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland's Warfare is an intense, nerve-racking retelling of an engagement gone wrong which puts the audience on ground with the platoon.  The film plays out in real time with the script based on testimonial from those involved back on November 19, 2006, in Ramadi, Iraq.  As a result, the plot is about as barebones as they come with the mission and subsequent rescue being the main propulsive force for the narrative.  We are given only the slightest tidbits of information on the respective members of the platoon as we watch them fight for their lives when things go off the rails.  This isn't the type of film that gives you the traditional tropes found in most war films so those looking for deep character exploration might be left wanting to know more about each person.  Mendoza and Garland are much more focused on bringing the chaos and its effect on these mostly 20 something soldiers as they struggle to survive and cope with deeply disturbing situations.  The ensemble cast is made up of a bevy of familiar faces with each delivering excellent work by delivering realistically raw reactions to the traumatic events on display.  There are still displays of heroism, but the film avoids overt jingoism with both sides presented as apolitically as possible.  The action sequences are technically impressive across the board, some of which give you the disorienting sense of shell shock the characters feel. There's an intentionality to everything Mendoza and Garland throw onscreen in Warfare with their aim being to give the audience a small sense of what these people went through for that hour and half and hopefully release some of the pent-up trauma along the way.   

A-

MOVIE REVIEW: THE WILD ROBOT

 

Shipwrecked on a deserted island, a robot named Roz must learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Building relationships with the native animals, Roz soon develops a parental bond with an orphaned gosling.

Director: Chris Sanders

Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, Bill Nighy, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, Catherine O'Hara, Matt Berry, Ving Rhames

Release Date: September 27, 2024

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi

Rated PG for action/peril and thematic elements.

Runtime: 1h 42m

Review:

The Wild Robot is simplistic in its storytelling, but its eye-catching visuals and emotional punch makes it one of the most impressive, animated film from Dreamworks in a longtime.  Chris Sanders' film has a dreamlike look to it thanks to an impressionist animation style for the backgrounds and non robot characters.  Its visually impactful throughout as there's nary an inch wasted onscreen as the island vibrantly brought to life.  There's an impressive efficiency to it all as he gives you a sense of the geography as we're introduced to the colorful cast of anthropomorphized animals.  The character designs are naturalistic which serve in contrast to the shipwrecked robot at the center of the story Roz.  Her slinky arm and legs give the character a fun sense of motion, particularly as she emulates the varied wildlife she encounters.  Her large camera lens eyes paired with wonderful voice work from Lupita Nyong'o really make the character live and breathe.  Nyong'o has an ability to bring a sense of humanity and authenticity to all her performances and it serves this film as the beating heart of story.  It makes the character's emotional arch as a surrogate mother even more impactful which makes certain moments, especially in the final act, primed to elicit waterworks from even the most cynical viewer.  The supporting cast is solid, particularly Pedro Pascal, but its Nyong'o that holds it all together from start to finish.  It helps that the story is unafraid to show all aspects of the circle of life in an honest way that doesn't pander the way some animated films.  There are hints of Wall-E, especially as we are exposed the futuristic human world that exist outside of the island.  Much like that film, there's an elegance to The Wild Robot's story and overall production that set it a cut above most animated family films.  

A