Alex Garland’s Civil War is a disturbing and uncomfortably precise framing of American dysfunction through the lens of countless 21st century failed states as documented through the cold lens of war journalists. It will be debated, reviled, and eventually recognized as brilliant pic.twitter.com/iAUs1hVoVx

— David Crow (@DCrowsNest) March 15, 2024

I don’t know how anyone can form a complete thoughts after this one but CIVIL WAR is truly harrowing stuff here.

Let it be known theres no agenda here. Just images on screen telling a story and it left me shaking.

Those images are burned into my brain. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/eBBohrWpJT

— Slasher Reviews 〇° @ SXSW (@SlasherReviews) March 15, 2024

Alex Garland is back, baby! CIVIL WAR is an absolutely stunning piece of cinema that is much more than the trailers imply. A haunting cautionary tale, a gripping reflection of today, and a tense AF movie. The sound design is brilliant, and the cast is fantastic. Watch it in IMAX! pic.twitter.com/2VSpCUMlqs

— Rafael Motamayor (@RafaelMotamayor) March 15, 2024

Trailer I saw before Dune was terrifying. Hoping it manages political aspects well enough that the "my secession" people realize how terrible an actual war would be when we have it very good right now.

CIVIL WAR: I left the movie, ate tacos, had a drink, tried to decompress and still am not ready to start processing this one. I think it’s my favorite Alex Garland? But there’s so so so much to unpack. Beautifully shot, that much stays true. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/BEyHOWHFyp

— Matt Donato (@DoNatoBomb) March 15, 2024

I hate even saying this, days after the last Oscars telecast, but these two — Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny — are getting Oscar nominations for #CivilWar. It will be two of many nominations. pic.twitter.com/DJoSI3V9Nz

— Sean O'Connell (@Sean_OConnell) March 15, 2024

#CivilWarMovie is a BRUTAL PORTRAIT of the American Dream. An emotional experience driven by incredible cinematography, outstanding performances, & a powerful message of a possible future. Kirsten Dunst embodies grief in her best ever performance. MUST-WATCH! especially in @IMAX pic.twitter.com/w0sjQKSV8O

— Anthony • The Movie Podcast (@AJGaliardi) March 15, 2024

Civil War is something special. Alex Garland firing on all cylinders with a beautifully character driven story that refuses to pull back from the harrowing & senseless realities of war. This film left me shaking. Incredible performances. Thrilling & devastating. I loved it #sxsw

— stoobs (@thejstoobs) March 15, 2024

I am very pleased to report that Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR gets a thumbs up from me. From a filmmaking standpoint, it’s absolutely masterful. The sound design is as enthralling as you could imagine. My heart can’t stop racing. The IMAX was otherworldly. More to come. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/bksrRcPhAv

— Bryan Sudfield @ SXSW (@BryanSudfield) March 15, 2024

I don’t know what to make of Alex Garland’s CIVIL WAR. It’s missing some thematic commentary, because it’s presented in such a matter-of-fact way. But I think that’s the point. It feels like a documentation of what will happen, so we’re supposed to feel repulsed and gross. #SXSW pic.twitter.com/TVX6gAEy0s

— kevin l. lee @ SXSW (@Klee_FilmReview) March 15, 2024

I know I'm going to be wrestling with CIVIL WAR for a while, and need at least another viewing under my belt, and I really do think Alex Garland is one of the most interesting filmmakers working today...

but... @sxsw https://t.co/dFpXFUk6kZ

— David Fear (@davidlfear) March 15, 2024

But to what end? Civil War offers a lot of food for thought on the surface, yet you're never quite sure what you're tasting or why, exactly. No one wants a PSA or easy finger-pointing here, any more than you would have wanted Garland's previous film Men as unnerving and nauseating a film about rampant toxic masculinity as you'll ever come across to simply scream "Harvey Weinstein!" at you.<<<<<possibly slight spoiler snipped just in case >>>> Yet you'll find yourself going back to that "explore or exploit" conundrum a lot during the movie's near-two-hour running time. It's feeding into a dystopian vision that's already running in our heads. Things fall apart, the center cannot hold, etc. So why does this just feel like more of the same white noise pitched at a slightly higher frequency?

Captain Winky said:

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"Left me shaking". Why do these nerds talk like this? I can't take any review like this seriously because they are always so dramatic and overblown.

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I hear you, and agree that it's dramatic/overblown/cringe. That said, there are people out there who genuinely react like this. And they probably think it's just as weird how hard we root for/get worked up over sportstball. In fact, I see just as much cringe on Premium every week. This is simply how some people process the things they love.

I am looking forward to this. I think Alex Garland had a lot to make up for with Men as it seemed to really sour a lot of people on him. I think that the praise it is getting is probably legitimate

all those tweets talking about how they feel this is an accurate portrayal of things to come, probly the first to dismiss "predictive programming" as some conspiracy theory

That trailer looks great!

Reviews for this are off the charts.

Maybe try the other thread, where the vast majority of the board liked it…

https://texags.com/forums/13/topics/3454231

Super late here. Watched this last night.

Pros:
- Reminded me of a hybrid of The Last of Us and Station Eleven; a combo of OG characters guiding a youngster through an apocalyptic landscape (TLOU) while trying to remain true to what brings them value in life (photojournalism, in this case)
- The cast is solid; speaking of The Last of Us, Cailee Spaeny would've made for a great Ellie
- Sturgill Simpson needle drop out of nowhere for a montage and it hit good
- Apolitical

Cons:
- Apolitical sure, but taking that approach did leave some glaring plot holes for motivations
- Power of the press was exaggerated greatly; the idea that a press photog would have ANY say in, uh, tactical command was hilarious to me...especially at the end
- Not enough evil Matt Damon (Jesse Plemons) screen time

Saw it only a couple weeks back as well... very "meh" on it.

It was interesting seeing ideas on minor conflicts everywhere and what they would be like. Overall, I never felt any real connection to the characters and the actual military conflict seemed to be very miniscule for something as crucial as half the country waging war on the other half.

I thought the only good character was that of Sammy. All the others just lost me.

I'd give it a 5/10

Saw this movie a couple months back and it was honestly one of the worst movies I've ever seen

Nope; not good. Complete waste of time.

It was crap, but at least it gave us the "what kind of _______ are you?" meme template, and for that I give thanks.

Civil War is streaming now for those that didn't catch it in theaters. I watched last night and thought it was a good watch as a pure war action thriller. Some more hashing out of the backstory would have been great because they only make little allusions to the things that embroiled the country in a Civil War. I would have liked to have known more about the President and what he did to become a despot but maybe the filmmaker didn't want to get the film mired down in politics and decided to just make a"what if" scenario action film.

Tried to get through the movie several times on my flight home from Rome last week - never even finished it. Just bad.

phatpat21 said:

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Saw this movie a couple months back and it was honestly one of the worst movies I've ever seen

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It is crazy, I enjoyed it on the big screen when it first came out. Tried to rewatch the other wknd and finished it but couldn't believe I liked it so much the first time. I think the edible and homemade mai tai that I smuggled into the theater might have been a factor.

Maybe try ingesting these toxins first? IDK