Warfare represents Ray Mendoza’s first writing and directorial experience, but he has acted as the military advisor for several major movies and TV shows, most notably the under-appreciated Afghanistan War movie The Outpost. Warfare taking the top spot for Alex Garland is incredibly impressive, as his filmography as a director and writer is loaded with major critical hits, like Ex Machina, Annihilation, and 28 Days Later. There is plenty of time for Warfare‘s score to still move up or down, but with so many reviews already submitted, the 94% Tomatometer Score seems close to where it will settle.

Warfare Is Only 2% Shy Of Being The Highest-Rated Iraq War Movie On Rotten Tomatoes

The Only Movie It Trails Is An Oscar Winner

Dozens of movies have been released about the various conflicts in the Middle East that the United States has been involved in for the last four decades. Some of the most highly-rated focused on American soldiers’ experiences in both Afghanistan and Iraq during the 2000s, as is the case for Warfare. The events of that movie focused on an incident that came about just after the conclusion of the Battle of Ramadi, which took place from March to November 2006 as part of the Iraq War.

As it stands, Warfare is only 2% shy of registering the highest Rotten Tomatoes score of any movie based on the Iraq War. That тιтle belongs to Kathryn Bigelow’s 2008 war action thriller The Hurt Locker, which stars Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie at the head of an incredible cast. The Hurt Locker is inspired by real events that occurred during the Iraq War, but is a fictionalized drama that doesn’t purport to be based on any real battles, as Warfare is. At the time of Warfare’s release, The Hurt Locker boasted a Tomatometer Score of 96%.

Warfare Beating The Hurt Locker Would Be Its Most Impressive Rotten Tomatoes Achievement

Beating A Best Picture Winner Would Be Incredible

As of this writing, Warfare is in the opening weekend of its theatrical release. There is of course plenty of time for its score to rise or fall as more critics view the film. For comparison’s sake, The Hurt Locker‘s 96% score is based on 287 verified critic reviews, more than double Warfare‘s 124. The Hurt Locker won six Academy Awards on nine nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, so Warfare matching its Tomatometer Score would be a truly incredible feat, although it is certainly possible.

For as incredible a movie as The Hurt Locker was, it received a plethora of criticism for its inaccurate portrayal of the soldiers’ experience during the Iraq War. Some of the elements that made it such an engrossing drama were, unfortunately, not reflective of the real conditions during the Iraq War, which is where Warfare outshines the Oscar winner. With Ray Mendoza at the helm and a screenplay based entirely on the memories of the men who fought in the skirmish, Warfare could be the closest a Hollywood movie ever gets to the real Iraq War experience.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes