Warfare film review: This tense action movie pulls no punches when capturing brutality of war & is one of best in genre
WARFARE
(15) 96mins
★★★★★
FROM Saving Private Ryan to Full Metal Jacket, Hollywood has tried to capture the brutality of war.
But rarely has a movie planted the audience as firmly in the boots of military men as Warfare.
Co-directed by Civil War creator Alex Garland and former US Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza it follows a true account of a surveillance operation in the Iraq war gone badly wrong.
Starring some of the hottest talent around, including Brit actors Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Kit Connor and Finn Bennett, it captures the energy of a group of young men stuck together in a life or death situation.
Incredible tension
The film starts with the SEALs watching a music video and then follows them as they take over a house in Ramadi, Iraq, which was a hotbed of insurgency.
Everything is relaxed until a grenade lands in one of the rooms injuring sniper Elliott Miller (Cosmo Jarvis) and leading petty officer Joe Hildebrand (Quinn).
Suddenly, they are faced with the challenge of getting the wounded men to safety when they are surrounded by enemy forces.
The tension is incredible as they head into the street to bring Miller to a waiting armoured vehicle, not knowing what awaits them.
I won’t give any more of the plot away, because that would spoil the movie, but it is fair to say that little goes as planned.
What you do need to know, if you are of a nervous disposition, is that Warfare doesn’t pull any punches in showing the full extent of blood and gore.
And you might want to bring some earplugs, too, because this is the noisiest movie you’ll see this year.
When the bombs go off, the US fighter jets fly past in a “show of force” and the machine guns rattle, it seems like the cinema is shaking with them.
Mendoza, who is Elliott’s best friend and was part of the operation, pieced together events as accurately as possible.
He deserves a lot of credit for his honesty because it doesn’t always show the SEALs in a flattering light.
Warfare won’t be for everyone, partly as it doesn’t explain what’s going on or what the military terms are.
But the confusion is part of the experience — the men in this firefight weren’t sure what was going on either.
What I am clear about is that Warfare is one of the best war films ever made.
GRANT ROLLINGS
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SINNERS
(15) 138mins
★★★☆☆
IN the trailer for Sinners, Jack O’Connell hollers in a deep south US accent, “We heard tale of a party”.
For well over an hour of this movie by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, you’ll be wondering if the shindig in question is a myth.
That’s because Sinners commits the cardinal sin of taking far too long to get to the action.
Set in 1930s Mississippi, more than half of the two hour and 18 minutes running time is spent building up the back story of blues guitarist Sammie ‘Preacher Boy’ Moore (Miles Caton) and his gangster twin cousins Smoke and Stack, both played by Michael B Jordan.
Jack’s devilish Remmick doesn’t arrive until late on, which is a mistake because it’s the threat of this soul- sucking vampire that provides most of the tension.
Once the party does get started, though, Sinners really rocks.
There is a great scene where musicians from the past and present join in with Sammie as couples on the dancefloor get hot and heavy.
Sexy and violent, Sinners could have been a 21st century From Dusk Til Dawn.
If only it had shown its teeth a lot earlier.
GRANT ROLLINGS
THE PENGUIN LESSONS
(12A), 111mins
★★★☆☆
ENGLISH teacher Tom Michell (Steve Coogan) arrives at a posh boarding school just as a military coup begins to take shape in Argentina in 1976.
Amid the political uncertainty, the usually cynical Tom rescues an oil-covered penguin and smuggles it into the school.
The film, adapted from Michell’s bestselling memoir, sets up a fascinating contrast between the chaos of a nation in upheaval and the whimsical companionship of Tom and the penguin he calls Juan Salvador.
Lessons are learned and there is plenty of soul-searching when Maria, who works at the school, is abducted by the new regime while Tom watches on, unable to intervene.
Guided by his newfound political awareness and bond with Juan Salvador, Tom begins to question his role in a country teetering on the edge.
Coogan delivers another brilliant performance, bringing a mix of bemused restraint and warmth to this very touching story.
While the film offers heartwarming moments and gentle humour, it ultimately plays it safe – neither fully embracing its quirky premise or digging into its historica setting.
LINDA MARRIC