Though Warfare is certainly one of the most visceral films of the year, there is also a curious distance to it; this has partly to do with the all-encompassing generalization of the title. It’s not named after the squad(s) of Navy SEALs involved, nor “The Battle of Ramadi” (the 2006 Iraq War conflict on which the action is based), nor any other event-specific element the salience of which would have worked perfectly fine as title—it’s simply “warfare.” This is what happens in war, the choice seems to say. Swap these young American soldiers for WWII paratroopers or Napoleonic cavalrymen, or Zulu warriors, for that matter: at the end of the day, they can be substituted for any number of able-bodied youths who are sent off somewhere to fight together and kill and, likely, die.

Yet, at the same time, there are things about this particular episode of bloodletting that are inextricable from its period in history. These are American Special Forces, and the writer-director team of Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza (a former SEAL whose firsthand account of Ramadi serves as the basis of Warfare’s narrative) do not skimp on the accuracy of militaristic procedure: their script is almost entirely jargon, though judiciously peppered with boyish camaraderie and moments of unfiltered human horror. Even a naïve viewer can see that the attention to detail is unique, and the film certainly takes its time walking the viewer through the almost bureaucratic process of holding down a defensive position, under enemy fire, whilst requesting extraction after your position has been exposed. […]