Civil War review

CIVIL WAR: 

ALEX GARLAND CRAFTS A HAUNTING AND UNSETTLING WAR! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

A24

God Bless America in Civil War

 

            Writer-director Alex Garland (Ex-Machina, Annihilation, Men) does the arthouse equivalent of The Purge in Civil War, his latest directorial effort following the mindf*ck that was Men from 2022. I apologize to Marvel fans, there is zero Captain America fighting Iron Man throughout the entirety of this picture so don’t be going in expecting that. 

            Alex Garland is a fascinating filmmaker to me and while some of his efforts can be hit-or-miss, you’re almost guaranteed to get an unconventional, creepy, and at times bizarre experience. Which probably makes this his most realistic movie in his filmography so far and even with that knowledge, Civil War is a disturbing and hauntingly relevant film that’s incredibly hard to watch and leaves a lasting impression upon exiting the theater. 

            The film is set in a dystopian United States of America and follows a team of military-embedded journalists consisting of war photojournalist Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst-Spider-Man trilogy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Midnight Special), her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura-Elysium, Wasp Network, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish), and aspiring photographer Jessie (Cailee Spaeny-On the Basis of Sex, Priscilla, Alien: Romulus) traveling across the country during a rapidly-escalating second civil war in order to reach Washington D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House. 

            The film also stars Stephen McKinley Henderson (Lady Bird, Dune (2021), Beau is Afraid) as veteran journalist and Lee’s mentor Sammy, Nick Offerman (Sin City, 21/22 Jump Street, Dumb Money) as the President of the United States, Sonoya Mizuno (Ex-Machina, Beauty and the Beast (2017), Crazy Rich Asians) as Anya, Jefferson White (Blindspot, Yellowstone, Chicago P.D.) as Dave, Nelson Lee (Ahsoka, Stargirl, Mulan (2020)) as Tony, Juani Feliz (Canal Street, Harlem) as Secret Service Agent Joy Butler, and Jesse Plemons (Black Mass, The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon) as an unnamed ultranationalist militiaman. 

            Overall, Civil War probably won’t leave as big an impact as something like the Purge movies or Joker as there are some flaws surrounding its social commentary, but it’s still an excellently crafted, thoroughly engaging and suspenseful dystopian thriller that will lead to fascinating conversations when it ends and Garland’s best film since Annihilation. This is also a movie that benefits seeing it in a theater with very loud sound like IMAX, Dolby, etc. because it really sounds like you’re in the middle of all this anarchy and chaos, you feel every gunshot, crash, and explosion during the film so definitely take advantage of the premium formats at your local theater because it sounds incredible. 

            The war scenes are unapologetically graphic and heart-pounding like grotesque shots of dead bodies, footage of riots and police brutality, a brilliantly suspenseful sequence involving Jesse Plemons asking the protagonists at gunpoint what states they’re from, and an intense and exhilarating final act. Despite being better known for smaller projects and this is technically an arthouse film, Garland knows how to make this film feel big without going full effects-driven blockbuster extravaganza. 

            The characters are where the movie shines particularly the three journalists, Kirsten Dunst who I just saw on the big screen a couple days ago with the Spider-Man re-release is excellent here and has strong colleague chemistry with Wagner Moura and even a kind of sort of parent/child dynamic with the young Cailee Spaeny. Speaking of which, Spaeny hot off of Priscilla is a standout as an aspiring photographer who tags along with Dunst and Moura who is essentially the audience’s surrogate into the film as she’s witnessing all of this for the first time, not to mention she allows some time to have fun amidst these dire times. 

They aren’t the most complex of protagonists but they’re the most human and relatable in this chaotic world so it works. At various points of the film, I was reminded of characters from The Purge: Anarchy/Election Year and even Mad Max: Fury Road where you can still have a world of anarchy and mayhem while still having characters the audience can connect with and get behind on their journeys. 

What keeps the movie from being perfect for me is how its social commentary is handled, I’m not saying it’s done badly as it does bring up a lot of relevant sociopolitical themes that are happening on our planet regardless of country and should be discussed. The film doesn’t really dive into the titular civil war or showed the events that led to it nor does it have much of a resolution at the end, it just kind of jumps the audience in the middle of the civil war against a corrupt government. 

For as over-the-top as the Purge movies can get at least those movies had a better understanding of the message it was trying to get across and knew how to execute it. Here, it mostly reinstates what’s commonly known in this divisive country we live in and doesn’t really try to go beyond that. 

Still, I was on the edge of my seat with Civil War and my eyes were glued to the screen from start to finish. I can’t guarantee it’ll have the same effect on you as it did for me, but that’s more than enough reason to experience this heavy and disturbing reminder of what our country might become if we don’t put in the effort to make a big change and judge for yourself.