We have all seen them before — those war movies where the battle scenes feel so fake and contrived. Like White Christmas. That’s a war movie, right?

Well trust me, you won’t get any of that in Warfare, now playing at Robinson Film Center.

Warfare is the story of a platoon of Navy Seals in Iraq in 2006. It features a gritty realism that elevates the viewers blood pressure and the intensity of the connection to the characters.

It has the strong realism because it was written by a man who was there. Iraqi War veteran Ray Mendoza wrote and directed Warfare with Alex Garland, and he dedicated the film to his brother in arms Elliott Miller, who was severely injured and suffered brain trauma in a mission that went horribly wrong for their platoon, which serves as the plot of the movie.

The movie is a proper tribute to Mendoza’s fellow soldiers that presents the brutal reality of war and dignity of those fighting.

The filmmakers move deftly between two sides of trauma that have to play on a solder’s mind. There are quiet minutes that seem like hours as the men wait for something to happen. And hours that seem like seconds when something actually does.

- Scott “Scooter” Anderson, Scooter Anderson Communications