First you have to accept the fact that this is not a normal movie with much of a plot or a story. It is basically a small group of photographers and journalists that are on a road-trip through several US States in the middle of a civil war. They would like to get to the President in Washington, D.C. and do an interview with him before someone kills him. The Western Forces are the biggest threat to the remaining bits of the Unites States and they are pushing hard to take control of the capital.
We get to see military forces and various rebel groups fight each other. They all seem determined to kill each other for unknown reasons. The movie never explains why there is a civil war or who the bad or the good guys are, if there are any good guys at all? It's actually nice not to have some moral or political bullshit rammed down your throat and just sit there and enjoy the spectacle while eating your popcorn. It is an action-packed movie with war scenes, blood and violence. Especially when tanks and attack helicopters enter Washington, D.C. it is some awesome shit.
I don't find the movie particularly realistic. Why would these different groups of combatants want these photographers tagged along in the middle of heavy gunfire? It does feel very constructed at times, but you can't deny it is entertaining.
The actors do a great job. Most of the focus is on the 2 women, the seasoned photographer Lee [Kirsten Dunst] and the newcomer Jessie [Cailee Spaeny]. The soundtrack music is really great too and provides some strange breaks. Who doesn't love watching civil war scenes to the awesome soundtrack of electro pioneers Suicide? The movie includes 2 Suicide songs "Rocket USA" and "Dream Baby Dream". After some intense war scenes there are also breaks of total silence which is equally effectful.
It is not a clever and outstanding movie like "Ex Machina" [2014] or as interesting as "Annihilation" [2018], but it is miles and miles better than the god-awful "Men" [2022]. I did enjoy watching "Civil War" on the big screen today. Whether it will have any replay value, well, only time can tell.
Rating: 
Movie Title: Civil War
Director: Alex Garland
This Release: 2024
Genre: Action
RunTime: 109
Actors: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson
Movie Format: Cinema
Content Type: Movie Review
Language: 
Updated: 2024-04-19 19:30
Created: 2024-04-19 19:13
