Civil War Film Review

Read Time: 4 Minutes

Let's talk about Captain America vs. Iron Man and how… wait, that was the wrong movie. Sorry about that. No, this is just “Civil War.” There are no vibranium shields and billionaire antics, just good old-fashioned nuanced Civil War. 

God help us all, or God bless America, the two bookends for the entire film. God help us all after watching the chaos unfold while the third-term president tells the people everything will be ok. God Bless America at the end when… alright, I will not spoil anything for you, but the movie begins and ends with the president, I will say that much. The excellent Nick Offerman plays the President. At the end of the film, after the credits rolled, I thought, damn well, God bless America. Director Alex Garland, simply titled “Civil War,” is an action-packed, nerve-racking ride of 1:46 hours and some change in run time. Never once taking its foot off the gas as it paints us an all too real dystopian future.

I was admittedly skeptical after the trailer was released. My first reaction was that of the general population. It's a political agenda movie by the phenomenal studio A24. Who has done little to no work on that front before, or at least none as grand as this. It seemed a little off-putting. Of course, like all other A24 films, the trailer was stunning and never reveals too much. So there I was, trying not to go too far in either direction of extremes and jump straight in. The Civil War throughout the film is between the secessionist movement dubbed the “Western Force” and the U.S. Government. Through all the bloodshed, bullets flying, if you looked at it with adequate enough sense. You would come to realize that it's all a masquerade. A brilliant one at that. It's not so much a misdirection but a vehicle to carry the actual theme or the driving force, if you will, of the whole film. How far is too far? For every person, there's a line of morality that we each draw, whether consciously or subconsciously. How far is each and every person willing to push their moral obligations? 

There are two characters I would like to focus on in the film's attempt to push the question onto our collective minds. They are Lee Smith, played by Kirstin Dunst, and Jessie Cullen, played by Cailee Spaney. At an initial glance, I thought both to be mirror opposites converging together. I thought Jessie was morphing into Lee right there on the screen. While that may be true, the other half I am not sold on. The initial glance was that Lee was getting more empathetic and was starting to question her beliefs as a journalist. While there may be some of that within her character, I don’t believe it tells her whole story. Lee begins to unravel before our very eyes. Whether the presence of Jessie triggered that or, at the very least, propelled her is anyone's guess. That cold stern look from the beginning explosion scene that she wears becomes one of fright and shock towards the end. All the stress and trauma had finally caught up to her. How much can one's humanity be pushed for the sake of gratified completion? All those years, Lee had to keep redrawing her line farther and farther, and she realized that bringing the line back wasn’t as easy as moving it forward. We get to see the start of it through a quick collage of flashbacks from some of her exploits. When she meets the unembellished Jessie, who looks up to Lee, she begins to see what she once was. A young and hungry journalist fishing for a great shot. One and every thirty, according to Lee. It had all begun to take its toll on her, culminating in the grand final assault on the White House as she couldn’t keep it together anymore. At the start of the film Lee checks Jessie throughout the film, seeing if she has what it takes to be one of them. Later on she realizes, right around the time when they follow a group of militia men with tropical shirts engaging a building housed by the U.S. loyalists that she is right there swimming in the deep end like herself.. It's a great contrast that is the driving force behind the whole film. Make no mistake again: the violence and the gunfire are merely props, pawns at best. This is to be used by the two as we get deeper and deeper into the turmoil. What are you willing to do for the shot? What methods and risks are you willing to take? Do you understand what you're getting yourself into? Lee starts to ask herself questions about morality and sanity. Is it all worth it? Is it worth it for the shot and the story?  Now, does she ever find out? Do they get the shot that all four of them were hoping to find? Why doesn’t the actor Jesse Plemons get more screen time? Well, you're going to have to watch for yourself. I didn’t have a ton of questions after watching this film, as it seemed to wrap itself up nicely. After the completion and the final shot, I asked myself the same question, which you should also ask. Where is your line? How far will you go? What circumstance would push you that far? If any? These deep-hitting questions are ones I relish when films pose them. Frankly, the line is different for everyone, and in a way, that is partly what makes us human, even taking from the film itself- all the journalists themselves, the soldiers, and the President. If you can push past the extreme violence and bloodshed, then it’s a simple, linear story. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. I wouldn’t call it a fun ride, as that would be disingenuous. Thank you for your time, and I appreciate you reading all the way through. It means the world to me. Until next time.

Rating: It was a typical genre-pushing film by A24 that is deserving of a 9.2 out of 10 for me.