EXIT WOUNDS

"Warfare."

- JUSTIN CHANG

Warfare” ends the way a lot of movies based on true events do: with a series of side-by-side photographs. Here are the characters you've just seen, and here are the actual people upon whom they're based. This is standard bio-pic operating procedure, and it often smacks of mimicry porn, a chance to marvel anew at the actors' skill, at the achieved resemblance between performer and subject. But “Warfare” isn't a bio-pic—it is, you'll be startled to hear, a war movie—and it cares not a whit for impersonation. Many of the real-life subjects, nearly all of them U.S. Navy SEALs, have had their faces blurred out in these photos, presumably for security and/or privacy reasons. The choice is in keeping with the movie’s method. It’s invested in process rather than personalities, and the performances aren't just scaled down; they've been practically strip-mined of individuality. A closing dedication, “For Elliott,” is as jarring as it is touching. To single anyone out is almost an affront to the film's spirit.