cinemapersonified

Rating - 8.0: Overall, a good war film that authentically captures what the gory and deafening trauma the characters were going through as it does a good job showing the toll the ambushed mission had on these soldiers mentally, in a way that doesn't idolize the Iraq War but rather memorializes what happened; Warfare doesn't have the bells and whistles you would expect from a traditional war film because it is more about reacting to what these characters were experiencing as if you were there with them.

Direction - Good: The direction on a macroscale is good as it authentically builds the world and how confined these soldiers were in this house, creating a sense of panic and anxiety for everyone; The direction on a microscale is all about the panic these soldiers are going through and the fear and shock they experience during the mission; The storytelling happens in real time as it is all reactionary to what these characters were going through, and because of this there really isn't that much of a story; They build tension effectively because this whole movie is about creating a tense environment that is so traumatic and anxiety-inducing that you feel you are with these soldiers on their mission

Story - Good: The concept is pretty simple as it is just a real-life ambushed mission during the Iraq War, but this movie provides so much detail into what went on that it feels very authentic by cutting out the bells and whistles and focusing on the characters reacting to what is going on; the plot structure is non-traditional as there really isn't much story to go through; it is more about experiencing what these characters were going through as if you were there; but at the end of the day, you can say there was a linear plot structure with what little plot they have; character writing, as a group, is good as the movie is really about the trauma these characters were experiencing, and these depictions felt very authentic to those in the Iraq War

Screenplay - Good: The dialogue feels very tactical and authentic to military personnel in the Iraq War, so, because of this, it may be a bit boring considering it doesn't have the bells and whistles you would expect from a traditional Hollywood war movie; the humor is very "bro humor," as it is stuff these soldiers would say for camaraderie; the symbolism is incredibly profound as it authentically portrays what these characters were experiencing, and it does so in a way that doesn't idolize war but memorializes what happened, authentically describing what these characters were going through and the negative toll it had on them; the movie shows how destructive the Americans were in Iraq as they had no regard for the locals and were as destructive as possible to defeat the enemy; this movie is very anti-war in its moral sentiments as it hammers the physical and mental toll the Iraq War had on them and how they were shown a lifestyle that wasn't what was advertised

Acting - Decent to Pretty Good: D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Will Poulter - Pretty Good (He plays his role well as the leader and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Cosmo Jarvis - Pretty Good (He plays his role well as he is the main soldier who goes through physical pain and trauma during the attack), Kit Connor - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast;), Finn Bennett - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Taylor John Smith - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Michael Gandolfini - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Adain Bradley - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Noah Centineo - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Evan Holtzman - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Henry Zaga - Decent to Pretty Good (He plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Joseph Quinn - Pretty Good (Even though his character is very whiny and shouts a lot, he plays his character well and has pretty good chemistry with the rest of the cast), Charles Melton - Decent to Pretty Good (Basically, it feels like a cameo, but it works well with the group), Rest of the cast - Decent to Pretty Good (No one performance overshadows another; this cast works as a group to help tell the story and show both the camaraderie and tragedy of war)

Soundtrack - Decent to Pretty Good: While there is no score and barely a soundtrack, the dichotomy between the beginning and ending songs shows the change in sentiment for the soldiers and the toll the war had on them

Cinematography - Good: Well shot to make this movie feel like you were there with these soldiers in war

Editing - Good: Helps increase the anxiety of the scenes and show the toll the ambush took on the characters

Sound - Great: Sound is deafening and mimics the anxiety-inducing sequences these characters were going through, being under fire

Visual Effects - Good to Very Good: It feels like they used many practical effects, as they authentically portrayed what was going on in the war

Production Design - Very Good: Feels authentic as they showed side by side the real apartment and the set they used

Makeup - Very Good: The blood and gore will make people squeamish; but it is necessary to show the gore and atrocities these characters were going through

Costumes - Good: Helps show the authenticity of these soldiers in the Iraq War

Pacing - Pacing is very much on the slower side because there is barely any plot to go through, but this feels very intentional as it makes you experience the real-time wait for these characters and how help felt like forever away; the movie being 95 minutes feels right as there was nothing you could really add or cut

Climax - The climax is typical of a war movie, and those scenes were well shot

Tone - Tone is not your typical war movie; it is more of a psychological drama; you feel you are with these characters, experiencing what is going on in the war; it authentically portrays the horrors and traumas of the Iraq War

Final Notes - The movie effectively uses its low budget, as it is more about the experience and not the bells and whistles.

Rating - 5.5: Overall, a movie that is made for its target audience, as this movie was made for gamers who grew up on the game 15 years ago, but it is just not a good movie despite all of its memorable memes because this might be one of the simplest and ugliest movies I have seen; my theater experience was the only reason I enjoyed watching this movie because all the teenagers around me were clapping and shouting during the meme parts, especially during the "Chicken Jockey" scene.

Direction - Bad to Pretty Bad: The direction on a macroscale is built in a very goofy way as Hess uses his signature style to create a movie for chronically online teenagers; the world-building for this movie might be some of the ugliest I have ever seen; the direction on a microscale is decent but pretty forced; the storytelling is so lazy as there is almost no struggle for the characters everything just happens in their favor; there is no tension built whatsoever

Story - Pretty Bad: The concept is the stereotypical trapped-in-a-video-game motif, but they do a decent job with this because they use the vast world of Minecraft well to show the world they are in; the story feels like it has a good grasp of Minecraft as it feels like they did their research to adapt the source material; the plot structure is very linear and predictable, it never feels like these characters struggle because everything just happens in their favor; character writing is very shallow as the movie just makes everything work in their favor; ghese characters are just so forced, an example is Jason Momoa's character who is basically a rip-off of Ken

Screenplay - Bad: The dialogue is forced and super-gamer, so the movie feels incredibly unnatural; they use words like "unalive" and have a character named "General Chungus"; the humor is unintentionally funny because of the memes; when the movie tries to actually be funny it is very flat; the symbolism is very surface-level, but the movie pays homage to both Minecraft creators like Technoblade and PewDiePie, and the director's first big break, Napoleon Dynamite; the foreshadowing makes this movie incredibly predictable

Acting - Decent: Jason Momoa - Pretty Good (Feels like a rip-off of "Ken," but he does a pretty good job making this movie entertaining), Jack Black - Pretty Good (He uses his signature gamer charm to characterize the character and make this movie entertaining for both kids; even though he is a little too much at times, this movie really suits his comedic strengths; he uses his singing talent well to make this movie feel a little over the top), Danielle Brooks - Decent to Pretty Good (Isn't given a lot of material to work with, but has noticeable screen presence and decent chemistry with Myers), Emma Myers - Pretty Good (Has charisma and screen presence that makes her scenes noticeable; has pretty good chemistry with the rest of the cast), Sebastian Hansen - Decent (The child plays the role decently well), Jennifer Coolidge - Bad (It feels like they tried to extend her White Lotus character, but they gave her material that is nowhere near as good), Rest of the cast - Pretty Bad (The cast does not work best together as it is a little forced; the supporting characters do not really do much to add to the story or the main cast except for the child actors)

Score - Decent: Incorporates themes from the Minecraft game

Soundtrack - Decent: Tries very hard to be Barbie, so much so that they even had Mark Ronson write some of the songs

Cinematography - Decent: Generic for a big-budget movie

Editing - Decent: Generic for a big-budget movie

Sound - Good: Does a good job incorporating sounds from the video game as this movie sounds like an extension of Minecraft

Visual Effects - Bad: Might be some of the ugliest uses of CGI I have ever seen; this movie is only saved because the CGI used to create the worlds is decently accurate and the wolf CGI was pretty good

Production Design - Pretty Good: The movie heavily relies on CGI to build the world, but it does do a decent job making this movie feel like it is set in Minecraft, even though it is obvious when they use a green screen

Costumes - Bad: It does not translate well to the real world as the Minecraft objects just look out of place

Pacing - Pacing is incredibly fast, as there is no struggle for the characters, everything just happens in their favor

Climax - The climax is a predictable action climax; while it is entertaining, you know exactly what is going to happen

Tone - Tone is very similar to Barbie as it feels like they were trying to recreate Barbie with this movie

Final Notes - This might have been one of the theater experiences I have ever been to; as everyone there was in on the meme and was clapping and shouting during the moments you should; like "Chicken Jockey"

Rating - 6.2: Overall, a decent spy thriller that is carried by its performances, but the poorly explained conflict, incredibly fast pacing, and short runtime really hold this movie back from being memorable; I would have enjoyed this movie a lot more if there were subtitles because I couldn't understand what they were saying half the time.

Direction - Decent to Pretty Good: The direction on a macroscale is very sharp and ominous, which helps set this spy-mystery tone; the direction on a microscale is sharp and well-executed, but the problem is that the scenes move too fast; the storytelling is a bit rough, as they do not do a good job presenting the conflict, and it just breezes through the plot to get to the end; they build tension decently

Story - Pretty Bad: The concept is not really explained well, as it is a little too mysterious; just take this movie as a generic spy thriller; the plot structure is pretty void, as there really isn't that much plot, and they breeze through the runtime; character writing is pretty void, as they make these characters too mysterious, which hurts because you don't really care about them towards the end

Screenplay - Pretty Good: The dialogue is sharp and what you would want for this movie, it is just spoken way too fast and not given room to marinate; the humor is pretty good, as it helps make it feel like an entertaining spy thriller; the foreshadowing is not really the best, but I might just have missed things because of how fast this movie goes

Acting - Pretty Good: Cate Blanchett - Pretty Good to Good (She has so much poise that she carries any movie she is in; She has good chemistry with Fassbender), Michael Fassbender - Pretty Good to Good (He plays this role like he has experience, mainly learning from his mistakes with "The Killer"; he commands the scenes he is in; he has good chemistry with Blanchett), Marisa Abela - Pretty Good (She plays her role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Tom Burke - Pretty Good (She plays her role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Naomie Harris - Pretty Good (She plays her role well and has pretty good chemistry with the cast), Regé-Jean Page - Pretty Good (He has a sense of charisma that is infectious; he plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with the rest of the cast), Pierce Brosnan - Decent to Pretty Good (Feels more like a cameo than he was offered because he's James Bond and this is a spy thriller; he does pretty well in the scenes he is in but is rarely given time to work with), Rest of the cast - Pretty Bad (There isn't that large of a supporting cast, but they do not do a good job supporting the main cast; They feel very inexperienced compared to the main cast)

Score - Pretty Good: Helps set the tone and makes the movie feel mysterious and very spylike

Cinematography - Pretty Good: Felt very sharp and crisp; the blurred light really helped the aesthetic of the movie

Editing - Good: Felt very sharp and crisp

Sound - Bad: The voices feel very muffled, and all the sounds feel very subdued

Pacing - Pacing is way too fast, so you never feel like you understand what is going on; They could have added 30 minutes to either slow the pace down or provide more content to make the story understandable and engaging

Climax - Climax provides suspense but feels a little too short

Tone - Tone is your typical spy thriller

Final Notes - This movie could have really benefited from a combination of better ADR, slower pacing, and a longer runtime.