‘The Mosquito Bowl’ gets contrasting reviews after AFI Fest premiere

Peter Berg’s Netflix World War II drama The Mosquito Bowl drew contrasting reviews around its AFI Fest premiere. Deadline’s Pete Hammond calls it “one of the most effective anti-war films I have ever seen.” The Hollywood Reporter’s Angie Han admires its craft but finds its storytelling emotionally thin. Hammond describes the AFI Fest screening as the film’s world premiere.

Adapted from a book by Buzz Bissinger, the film follows four college football players who join the Marines after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis play the four leads. Han writes that the titular game takes up little of the film’s 126-minute runtime.

Hammond sees the game as a brief respite from combat and describes the battle scenes as “a visceral experience so intense and unrelenting it seems we are there.” Han also praises the combat sequences, writing that they “look expansive and authentic.” Her objection is to the connective storytelling: she argues that the film “keeps shortchanging the emotional beats required to make them land.”

Deadline’s review lists Oct. 30, 2026, for a theatrical release and Nov. 25, 2026, for streaming.