Big Picture Big Sound

Last year, writer-director Alex Garland's "Civil War" took the commonly heard phrase "We live in divided times" and splashed it across the screen. The movie, while impressive in its filmmaking, felt entirely like empty provocation, made for the sole reason to ruffle feathers amidst our fractured political landscape.

To a lesser extent, Garland's new movie "Warfare" feels the same way. The movie, which Garland co-wrote and co-directed with Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza, doesn't feel like it's courting controversy like "Civil War" did, but feels like a filmmaking exercise without much depth.

"Warfare" can be thrilling and an overwhelming sensory experience - sometimes in the same moment. The muscularity of the filmmaking - much like "Civil War" - is impressive, but the thin screenplay doesn't make for a well-rounded movie, which never rises about its "war is hell" trappings.

The movie is set in 2006 during a mission Ramadi, Iraq. Garland and Mendoza certainly put the audience in the thick of the chaos, which can be effective in making viewers feel like they are experiencing the horrors of war in real time with the characters. The startling sound design will rattle every part of your body, and some of the effects will make you squirm.

"Warfare," as stated by the cast introduction that played before the screening, is about the brotherhood of war, but the ensemble cast are swallowed up by the cacophony around them. Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton, Noah Centineo, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, Michael Gandolfini, and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai are some of the up-and-coming stars that make up the team of SEALs. They are largely nameless faces amidst the combat, which makes "Warfare" lack some emotionality.

At a brisk 90 minutes, "Warfare" moves with a breakneck pace, which might be a relief to some viewers who find the experience entirely too much to handle. There's an inherent authenticity to "Warfare," thanks to Mendoza's involvement, but the movie rarely rises to feeling like a complete movie rather than just a sensory experience.