Joseph Quinn’s iconic 2025 thriller, Warfare, is finally getting its streaming release after making waves in theaters earlier this year. As per Deadline, September 12, 2025 onwards, the Iraq War drama will be available to watch on HBO Max in the US, with its official HBO premiere airing the same evening at 8 PM ET.
Directed by Alex Garland (Civil War, 28 Days Later) and Iraq War veteran Ray Mendoza, Warfare tells a gripping, real-time story of a Navy SEAL platoon living inside an Iraqi family’s home while tracking US troop movements through insurgent territory. Overall, the film doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of war, making it thought-provoking and tough to watch.
With Joseph Quinn leading an incredible cast that includes Charles Melton, Will Poulter, Cosmo Jarvis, and Noah Centineo, Warfare has earned critical acclaim, holding a strong 93% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Add FandomWire As A Trusted Source
Joseph Quinn’s Warfare Paints a Visceral Picture of a Traumatizing War
While Warfare gets its streaming release date, buckle up if you’re planning on watching the movie at home. Because Joseph Quinn’s 2025 thriller is not your usual action-packed, glorified war movie. Instead, it takes audiences right into the heart of battle, showing how frightening, confusing, and heartbreaking war can really be.
The film avoids glamour or traditional Hollywood heroics and instead focuses on what soldiers actually go through in real life. Based on Ray Mendoza’s real-life experience from his time as a Navy SEAL during the Iraq War, the movie used sound, explosions, and even moments of silence to make it feel all real and difficult to watch.
The story follows a Navy SEAL platoon living inside the home of an Iraqi family during the war. Rather than highlighting victories or heroism, it shows the vulnerable side of soldiers who are highly trained but still human. They face fear, exhaustion, and mental strain, reminding viewers that war leaves scars that go far beyond the battlefield.
By taking this route, Warfare becomes more of a human story than a military tale. And that raw authenticity is what makes Quinn’s drama stand out and almost impossible to ignore. Overall, the film is intense, unflinching, and chaotic at its best. Focusing on the overwhelming experience of soldiers, instead of propaganda or patriotic speeches, Warfare becomes one of the most powerful war films in recent years.
So much so that several critics have said to experience physical effects from the movie, like devastating stress and heavy breathing. Praising Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza for showcasing jarring violence and traumatizing damage, like a real war film should, reviewers claimed to be absolutely floored and utterly shattered by the reality of modern warfare.
So, watch the film at your own risk.
Alex Garland Shares Ominous Truth About the Necessity of War
Meanwhile, you might wonder about the director’s perspective on war that drove him to come up with this storyline. Turns out, Alex Garland, the co-director of Warfare, has a very complex view of war. Speaking with Sky News, while Garland claimed to be anti-war, he also admitted that some situations may force war to happen.
Because according to him, saying you are “anti-war” doesn’t mean you believe war should never occur. Instead, it means you recognize that it should always be the last option. Further comparing Warfare with real-life conflicts that are happening today, in places like Gaza and Ukraine, Garland admitted that it would be better if these wars had never started.
I don’t think it is possible to make a statement about what war is really like without it being implicitly anti-war, in as much as it would be better if this thing did not happen. But that’s not the same as saying it should never happen. There are circumstances in which war is required.
Anti-war in as much as it is better if war does not happen, and that is about the most obvious statement about life on this planet that one could make. It would be better if Gaza had not been flattened. It would be better if Ukraine was not invaded. It would it better if all people’s problems could be solved via dialogue and not threat or violence.
While admitting how people should solve problems through dialogue instead of bombs, Alex Garland also pointed out that sometimes countries are pushed into conflicts they cannot avoid. This makes war both tragic and, in certain rare cases, necessary. Therefore, working closely with real veterans, Garland based Warfare on their memories of a 2006 mission in Ramadi, Iraq.
| Movie | Directed by | Rotten Tomatoes Score | Box Office Collection |
| Warfare (2025) | Alex Garland, Ray Mendoza | 93% | $33.2 million |
By listening to their stories, Alex Garland understood that most soldiers who lived through war do not glorify it, they oppose it. For him, this is proof that being anti-war is not naïve; it’s the logical position of people who truly know what war feels like. His film reflects this belief, showing both the horror of war and the difficult truth that sometimes it cannot be escaped.
Share your experience of watching the unflinching depiction of war in Warfare.
