Kit Connor's new movie Warfare stuns critics as a "truly devastating" and "gripping" experience

Kit Connor’s new war drama Warfare has landed its first reactions from critics – and it already sounds like it’s a hit.

Written and directed by Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland, the film explores the story behind the United States’ invasion of Iraq in 2006, from the perspective of a platoon of Navy SEALs in the home of an Iraqi family as they watch over the movement of US forces through insurgent territory.

As well as Connor, the film’s star-studded cast also includes Joseph Quinn, Will Poulter, Charles Melton, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Cosmo Jarvis, Finn Bennett, Taylor John Smith and Noah Centineo.

A24

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Ahead of its release in the US on April 11 and UK on April 18, those lucky few to have already seen Warfare have taken to social media to share their first reactions to the new movie.

“Warfare is raw, honest and absolutely bone-chilling,” wrote The Nerds of Color. “The 1st act is uncomfortable at times. Don’t be dissuaded by the trailer, if you were. This does not glorify the war or gloss over the devastating impact it had on the Iraqi people. It’s truly devastating on every level.”

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff also had high praise for the film, describing it as “one of the most immersive and visceral war movies I’ve ever seen — and also one that romanticizes war the least”.

“Gripping from the moment it opens, Warfare puts the viewer right smack in the middle of a mission gone wrong,” she added.

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Hunter Bolding hailed it as “brutal, realistic, horrifying, and one of the most harrowing depictions of war on screen”, while Ben Meter praised the film’s “impeccable sound design and claustrophobic atmosphere.”

Zach Pope wrote: “Warfare is a shattering, relentless & utterly devastating look at Modern Warfare. My heart is racing, my body is shocked, & I’m still breathing heavy. This isn’t just another war movie… it’s an experience. Stripping any piece of spectacle & only delivering the rawness of war.”

Drew Taylor described the film as “unbearably tense” and praised the young cast’s “excellent performances”, while Erik Davis wrote: “Warfare is definitely the most intense film I’ve watched this year. Incredibly immersive in its approach, we’re thrust into an impossible situation with soldiers trapped inside a home under attack.”

Warfare arrives in US cinemas on April 11 and UK cinemas on April 18.