Alex Garland's "Warfare" serves as a focused complement to his previous film, "Civil War," diverging into the memories of a Navy SEAL mission during the Iraq War. It explores themes of American exceptionalism by presenting a raw portrayal of the human costs of war, challenging comforting narratives about military service. While "Civil War" tackled fears of societal collapse, "Warfare" explores the visceral impact of foreign conflicts on individuals. This film seeks to highlight the disparity between the romanticized view of serving the nation and the harsh reality faced by soldiers on the ground.
If "Civil War" was a mealymouthed broadside against the idea that "it can't happen here," "Warfare" serves as a viscerally hyper-specific reminder of the human cost required to ensure that "it" keeps happening everywhere else instead.
Warfare ignores the partisan implications of "supporting the troops" in favor of trying to reconcile the fantasy of serving this country with the reality of dying for it.
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