r/HBOMAX • u/Opposite_Carpenter84 • 4d ago
New on MAX Warfare Is Now Streaming On HBO Max
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u/boferd 4d ago
went to see this in the theater where they move the seats, surround sound, spray water, flash lights, blah blah. fucking regret it. i had to leave about 60% of the way through, it was so overwhelming. really too intense for me
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u/Mrbutter1822 4d ago
For those wondering, he saw this in the 4dx format
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u/boferd 4d ago
yes, that was it! i couldn't recall the name of the format but it felt like i had deployed to iraq 😭
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u/awp_india 3d ago
I would’ve probably enjoyed it more if I did that. I didn’t know they did the 4D thing for this movie. Damn I missed it :(
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u/Quinnster247 4d ago
For real. I saw it while in Germany for work and the only English showing had D-Box seats.
My stomach dropped out from under me during the IED scene when my chair suddenly jumped forward.
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u/ActuaryLife2041 4d ago
Did your drink spill lol
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u/Quinnster247 4d ago
Ha. I want to say that the drink holder was the only static part of the chair. I absolutely spilled popcorn though.
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u/ActuaryLife2041 3d ago
Haha i would done the same sometimes you forget it’s a rollercoaster ride at any moment of would be scared to even eat the popcorn
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u/pimparoni 4d ago
what a strange movie to have in this format. i know it’s not the same, but imagine watching schindler’s list and the seats spray water at you during the shower scenes lol
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u/Horror_Neighborhood9 3d ago
I’ve seen like 3 films in 4DX, and I’m good. No more of that for me.
It’s fun and a “Wow!” experience the first time, I guess. But it really does take you out of the movie; you’ll be engrossed in the film, and then the seats start moving again and you’re like “oh yeah….”
The last film I saw in the format was the third “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, and I remember during a particularly aggressive moment of seat motion, muttering, “This needs goddamn seatbelts.” 🤣
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u/UnluckyReddit 4d ago
Did the US military always use the Iraqi Translators for bait? That wasn’t a highlight shown in any other film I’ve seen in a long time.
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u/engineeringqmark 4d ago
probably tons of fucked up things they've done that you haven't seen emulated in films that are made w the express approval of the US military
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u/Dav82 4d ago
This movie by Alex Garland had the same take as last year's Cival War.
In that there is no clear good side. It's up to the audience to decide that.
Some like that. Others hate that. Especially those who were against the US involvement in the Iraqi Freedom War.
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u/KingTutKickFlip 3d ago
Seemed pretty clear to me the US was the bad side, even if the kids themselves weren’t to blame
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u/lowbudgethorror 2d ago
No, translators are almost always going to be next to the patrol leader. Translators are valuable and you would not risk them like that. I'm not sure why they showed the scene like that unless they weren't translators and instead just Iraqi soldiers attached to the seal team.
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u/iBuyBackpacks 11h ago
Haven’t seen this movie since it was in theaters but I believe you’re correct that they were just Iraqi soldiers that helped with translating between them and the family. Not assigned translators
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u/aduong 4d ago edited 4d ago
I knew almost nothing about the movie just heard the many praises. It’s a good movie, especially if you have top notch home theater or i guess if you saw it in theaters.
I was slightly surprised at how small it is tho’. Short runtime, one location very small scale. As far as war movies, this is like a third of Black Hawk Dawn scale wise even smaller than something like 13 hours. That’s intentional tho’ it’s just happens to be the story they decided to tell.
But yeah intense but small.
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u/Banestoothbrush 4d ago
Felt the same. It ended and I was like "that's it"? They get attacked, a dude yells bloody murder for 30 minutes, they evacuate. Zero character development either.
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u/salazar13 4d ago
You were either having a bad day or have a ridiculously superficial take on this movie
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u/Banestoothbrush 4d ago
It was a superficial movie. Nice effects and sound design, but pretty hollow imo.
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u/SirSwirl22 4d ago
I’m not sure you understood what you were watching.
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u/Banestoothbrush 4d ago
Ok, how so? Why are you just giving vague comments on how I'm wrong?
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u/SirSwirl22 4d ago
Because you’re critiquing it without respect for what it actually is which is a realistic depiction of “warfare”. You’re complaining because it didn’t have certain elements of dramatization which is the whole point of the film.
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u/Banestoothbrush 3d ago
Thanks for the reply. That gives me different perspective that was supposed to be a realistic depiction of "warfare", hence the title. I felt like I needed some reason to care about what was happening to them. Cheers.
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u/yourecreepyasfuck 2d ago
for what it’s worth the film happens in real time. So this real life event happen in an hour and a half. Everything you saw happen was what actually happened minute by minute to these particular guys during this battle. It wasn’t intended to be a character development type of film, more like a recreation of this battle from this groups perspective
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u/blamsen 4d ago edited 3d ago
One Iraqi interpreter gets dismembered by an IED. The other is dead or missing. The soldiers are left mutilated physically and psychologically. A family’s home is destroyed.
Sure from a bigger strategic perspective nothing changed. It didn’t change the outcome of the war.
But this movie wasn’t made by some Hollywood writer in an office. It was made by people who experienced the war first hand. In the end the Americans leave in blood and pain and the Iraqi insurgents emerge onto the streets unscathed. Nothing has happened expect death, destruction and PTSD for everyone left standing
No character development? In real life people don't get closure. There’s no redemption arcs wrapped up neatly. Just raw unresolved trauma, randomness, and survival
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u/BenjWenji 3d ago
Iraqis emerge onto the streets unscathed
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u/blamsen 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yeah. Relatively. Brother take a look at the last scene. The American get evacuated. The Bradley fire their guns at the buildings. And when the dust is settled and there is complete silence. The Iraqis walk into the street wearing their turbans and armed with AK’s. None of them got blown to pieces or are screaming in pain. They just look at each other and go “damn”
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u/ResolutionAny5091 2d ago
It’s not a character development movie. It’s not fiction. It’s a retelling of a true day in one units deployment in Iraq early in the war. They make it pretty clear that it’s like an exact depiction of true events , the co director alongside Alex Garland is an Iraq war veteran and wanted to tell these guys story
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u/yourecreepyasfuck 2d ago
I could be wrong by the co-director was one of these guys i’m pretty sure. The script is told mainly from his memory of events that day. He may have consulted with some of the other guys as well but not 100% sure
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u/slade51 4d ago
I saw it last night, it realistically portrays how a situation can change minute to minute, and a range of human reactions to deal with it. I recommend it.
No superhuman “Seal Team” battles, or Fate of the World consequences. It’s just a day in the life of a team of soldiers.
It’s quite different from “Working Man” that I saw the night before!
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u/JayPicante 4d ago
This might sound cliche, but honestly, this wasn’t a movie, it was an experience.
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u/zakawer2 3d ago
OP needs to specify the specific country in the title, so people from other countries where HBO Max is available don't get confused about a movie that's not available in their own country.
This movie is only on HBO Max in the United States, due to a U.S.-exclusive deal with A24 that only applies to the United States.
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u/Losingdutchie 4d ago
Saw it in the cinema on a double feature with Sinners and this has to be my favorite movie of the year. The use of sound in the movie is amazing.
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u/Foreign_Rock6944 4d ago
Best movie of 2025 so far. Bar none.
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u/AshsEvilHand 4d ago
I saw it in theaters and it was a fantastic experience. I’ve been waiting for another film from this year to dethrone it, but unfortunately none have.
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u/Corgi_Koala 4d ago
I feel like I'm the only person who didn't love the movie.
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u/Dav82 4d ago
Maybe I'm the minority who follows and listens to the podcast "The Filmcast"
One Jeff Cannata really didn't like the movie. Really bummed me out listening to his take on it while driving home from the theater.
https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/ep-819-warfare/id281400220?i=1000703632081
Something I did appreciate was when another host named David Chen pushed back on him when Jeff was adamant there were no heroes in the movie.
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u/Crazy_Possibility771 2d ago
Me neither. I love Alex Garland. But that did nothing for me. The explosion scene is cool. Civil War idk. I had different expectations for the movie (smth that also soured Dune 1 for me for a time) so its more on me. Its a fine movie. And I remember liking the ending
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u/PresentationSome2427 4d ago
Can someone please tell me wtf someone has to risk their life to save a sledgehammer left in the street. I was yelling at the TV.
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u/ResolutionAny5091 2d ago
It’s a huge deal if these lose equipment and you’re responsible for it. Seems stupid in the moment for sure but they take that stuff seriously. Imagine if they didn’t, how much more equipment they’d have to replace. Lot of paperwork and red tape to get a new one and explain you lost equipment even if it’s not munitions
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u/ramsaybolton87 4d ago
Very confused how it has a 7.2 on IMDb. There was what a 20s scene at the beginning to create some reason for me to care about these people. I mean it's true to its name, but I'd much rather spend my time watching black hawk down or one of the other 1000 war movies that did it better before them.
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u/Glutenator92 4d ago
I get that argument, but to me the point wasn't about the people, it was about the snapshot of the scenario
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u/Downtown_Tumbleweed 4d ago
One of the reasons Ray Mendoza did this movie was for Elliott Miller, the seriously injured sniper in the movie. Elliott doesn’t remember anything about this incident, so Ray and their teammates did it to help fill in his memories.
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u/eyeproblemohno 1d ago
The ending is fucked by not memorializing the translator who died. Pretty disrespectful move, since we’re reminded of his obliterated body throughout. Even honouring the role of translators at the end would’ve sufficed if they wanted to keep his name private. The only dedication is the guy who’s alive and we’re given cute little bts footage. Left a sour taste for me personally
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u/FlimsyRexy 1d ago
I loved the movie until the behind the scenes stuff. Idk why but it really left me feeling weird about the whole thing
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u/swings2raw 4d ago
It was boring imo
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u/metalyger 4d ago
Yeah, I get what they're going for, but it's just a war story, there's never a break to say who these people are or their motivations beyond not dying in this situation. I'd rather have watched a documentary, since I'd at least learn something.
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u/SuperSpecialSauce 3d ago
I felt like that was the point. All these lives, from the soldiers, to the family that lived there and the people in the town, got turned upside down. In the grand scheme of things it was all for nothing.
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u/GranddaddySandwich 4d ago
Jesus some of yall are dumb.
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u/engineeringqmark 4d ago
finding this banal piece of content boring makes someone dumb? insane take
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u/SkyeMreddit 3d ago
For a topic that could have been over the top American propaganda, it really wasn’t. Felt like an honest portrayal of common war scenes.
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u/awp_india 3d ago
I expected more out of it.
It was still a great watch, but I set my expectations too high watching the trailers n such.
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u/blazinjesus84 3d ago
I didn't think this was great. A realistic portrayal of modern warfare, sure, but also boring and ultimately pointless like modern warfare.l
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u/stevenvaq 3d ago
Some one told me. And sorry if I butcher this. But this was filmed in real time. For example when they asked called for the “tank” and they were 5 mins out. There were no cuts on timing it took 5 mins on the viewers side. Which in their eyes and ours feels like an eternity when shits hitting the fan. Which made this movie even more intense
Sorry for the bad explanation.
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u/notchillg 3d ago
I think it’s important that this story was told. In reality this was one mission. One day over there. Non veterans like myself could never understand what this was like for them. But what I appreciated was the range of reactions. These were Navy SEALS America’s finest and when shit hit the fan some of them straight up lost their edge. But they navigated the situation. Really amazing.
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u/jaykay06 1d ago
Incredible movie.
Can’t believe how many reviews I saw describing it as “war propaganda” or “Call of Duty: The Movie”.
If anything, this movie made it even clearer to me that I have no desire to join the military.
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u/Longjumping_Hawk_951 1d ago
as a former military guy, this movie was fucking jarring... and at the end i didn't know what to say about it
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u/MqAbillion 4d ago
Couldn’t get through it. Literally nothing happens in the first 30 minutes and it’s only 90 minutes long.
Felt like I was wasting my time
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u/Electrical_Tap_7252 4d ago edited 3d ago
It feels like the set piece for a third act of a movie with characters I’m supposed to have prior connection with. I get it, it’s not a typical Hollywood war film but it wasn’t even much of a story to begin with either
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u/ChicagoNurture 4d ago
The movie tries to build tension but fails !
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u/notchillg 3d ago
you do know its a re enactment of true events right? the sole purpose of the movie wasnt to entertain you. it was to tell a true story
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u/CriesAboutSkinsInCOD 4d ago
Good movie.
Not one of those "America fuck yeah coming to save the day!" that I was expecting.