CIVIL WAR - A Hollow Odyssey Into Conflict Without Meaning

Alex Garland's latest dystopian thriller, "Civil War," marks a departure from his previous successes in film-making. Initially celebrated for his innovative storytelling as a novelist turned director, Garland presents a fragmented United States engulfed in a civil war, featuring a team of war journalists journeying from New York City to Washington, D.C. to interview an authoritarian president amidst escalating conflicts between federal and secessionist forces. The film, while drawing on existential themes reminiscent of his earlier works like "28 Days Later," "Sunshine," "Ex-Machina," and "Annihilation," struggles with narrative coherence and depth. The unlikely alliance between Texas and California, along with a depiction of the country as a disjointed patchwork including Florida and regions with Chinese influences, strains credibility and leaves much of the political landscape and the war's causation unexplored. This surface-level engagement extends to the characters—led by Kirsten Dunst's emotionally detached journalist, Lee, and her colleagues, who traverse the war-torn country capturing its impacts without moral introspection. Despite Garland's intent to portray journalists' neutrality, the film becomes heavily politicized, particularly in its portrayal of the president and the use of American symbols, yet fails to delve into the political dynamics it sets up, resulting in a narrative that feels both politically naive and shallow.

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[imperialdoesathing]

Quoting a friend, “this would’ve been better as a mini-series”

[Raycloud]

Great idea to make the protagonists journalists covering the "mostly peaceful" civil war.

[Noredlac_]

The film got one thing right about what a modern civil war would be like, absolute chaos, specially when people think it’s gonna be black and white factions

[greenfrog]

It seems like a24 has a decent rising and climax, but they always drop the ball with the endings of their films. My literal reaction to the ending of civil war was "thats it? What was the point?".

[andrewrogers]

A British guy who has barely stepped foot in the U.S does a film about American politics apolitically about a civil war, a peak a political polarization

Of course it was bad.

[andrewknight]

I liked this movie. If you don't look at it as a movie about a civil war in the US but instead as a movie about the toll the job of a war correspondent takes on a person and what it takes to do what they do. Also, it's a testament to the extent photographers and correspondents will go to "get the story".

[saynotodrugs]

This movies script is coming true more and more each passing day.

[romanxkostan]

The editing of this video is incredible.

[channingtaintum]

The number one reason why this movie isn't a believable possibility is because, in the film, Texas and California are allies.

[vittekantilles]

It was the kind of movie if you saw the preview/trailer, you seen the best of it and don't really need to watch the rest.

[Maldr.]

The title of this video is better writing than the entirety of the film.

[HistoryMonarch]

I’ve seen some films that sorta had the same premise but did it so much better. Like “under fire” covering a civil war in Nicaragua and that journalists could play a role in how they present conflict and how it plays out and support. There aren’t just “neutral” they were just a little biased for the rebels and they point that out how it drove it. It wasn’t just “oh journalists don’t care about sides”

Another thing is that vagueness of a conflict is not as common as you’d think. Not being specific about the ideologies or sides and why, paints conflicts as grey when even when you don’t know much, doesn’t mean they don’t exist or what one side is doing is objectively bad etc etc

[Erin-Thor]

The producers said quite clearly, they “wanted to avoid direct comparisons to today’s policies, while letting viewers add their own conjecture.”

[descendinggod]

The end of the movie conflict is downright one of the modern war depictions in any form of media. The sounds, the visuals, tactics, everything was so insanely real. This movie felt like 2 different movies because of that battle scene.

[sjTHEfirst]

I’m so glad you included the “Ron” clip at the end. I think the whole movie was just Ron dreaming.

[ianray]

THE MAIN REASON I SAW THIS MOVIE

i played the campaign of 2009s Modern Warfare 2, and seeing Washington DC as a warzone brought a dose of nostalgia

This final part of this movie was the "Of Their Own Accord" mission and the trailer for this movie reminded me of the "Infamy" trailer for that game

[frankg]

The problem with a movie about a Second Civil War is that you can't sacrifice Worldbuildin' in the name of "Political Neutrality". Such a notion is pretentious. The Second Civil War in the film has to feel like a real war, not a shallow vague backdrop for a road trip with unlikeable characters and action scenes that exist for the sake of havin' action scenes. Alliances have to be realistic and both sides have to have clear causes.

[JynxedKoma]

Jessie: "We'll give you 50 million, American, if you let us interview the president."
Soldier: "No."
Lee: "50 million, Canadian."
Soldier: *"OK."*

[Jehosaphet]

Actually had a conversation with my Fiance after watching this about how empty it seemed, how it left us feeling nothing...no feeling for any of the characters, no understanding of any message, no real impression at all other than how much of a nothing-burger this film was after all the hype. Had really been looking forward to it and it was just one of those in-and-out movies, quickly forgotten. Wish they'd have spent a little more time in the writer's room.

[JacksonLohEeLeong]

"That was a great photo, Jessie" as the car sent flying should have been the movie 😂😂😂