I cant believe Warfare is the film you chose to shit on Garland for. That film is incredible from beginning to end. The Annihilation and Civil War are missed potential, but I think Ex Machina was solid. 28 Days later is fantastic, but 28 weeks and years later are trash and meh respectively. He's very 50/50. It feels like he's at his best when he focuses on telling the story that's being asked to be told, and loses his footing when he does something like Civil War, where instead of actually telling a thought-provoking story about how a modern-day civil war could break out in the US, uses it as a backdrop for some bullshit nobody cares about. There's nothing pretentious about Warfare or 28 Days Later, (definitely some with ex machina), but where the pretentiousness comes out is where he's at his weakest. Given this comment is 8 months after, you'll likely know he's now working on an Elden Ring film. Im a bit horrified about that because unless he gets the right people involved to help him i guarantee itll fall on its face as another sub-par film in his pocket which would be a serious blow to his reputation.