Civil War - Movie Review 

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The thing that impressed me the most was the sound design. The fact that gunshots were loud and startling was fantastic. A film that depicts firearms sound signature realistically. When people were shooting, it WAS the loudest thing on screen. No normal ear friendly conversations, guns are loud. It made them loud.

Perfect timing, just saw it last night. The whole audience here in Montreal laughed at Canadian money being worth a lot.

“Small towns have the most disturbing scenes.” Well, if we learned anything from Walking Dead, it’s not the zombies we have to be afraid of.

The character change makes more sense if you view it as 3 concurrent coming of age stories. You basically have 4 characters who are in different parts of their 'war journalism' careers. -Cailee Spaney (Jessie) has just started her career as a war journalist. -Wagner Moura (Joel) is in his prime. The job is exciting to him. He comes off as an adrenaline junkie, he is going the extra mile to get that shot that will make a name for himself. -Kirsten Dundst's character (Lee) essentially is at the end of her prime. She's made a name for herself, photographing conflict and has basically seen it all, but the this has taken a heavy toll on her. -Stephen McKinley (Sammy) is past his prime. He really has no place being in a war zone. He's too old to keep up but his passion for the career has kept him going past the stopping point. He isn't invincible like he was when he was younger. He can no longer hide the fact that he values his own life and those around him. This impairs his abilities as a war journalist as they need to be very stoic and cold in order to operate in this environment. *****Spoilers***** *********** *********** *********** *********** The toll of the career has basically worn Lee down to her limit. She is trying to hold face and maintain her presence, but the cracks are starting to show. Her and Joel both experience some extreme trauma within the film. Joel being in his prime is able to overcome it. Lee on the otherhand is at the end of her rope and finally just breaks down. At the start of the film, she implies, heartlessly, that if Jessie were to die, she'd photograph it. When Sammie is killed, she photographs him, but then deletes the photo. She can't keep up the stoicism required to be a war journalist any longer and she has developed into a parallel of Sammie. This happens right as they are thrust into the most intense combat. She is unable to function to her full potential as a journalist. She starts having a mental breakdown while in the middle of a battle. During this time, Jessie is starting to develope more into Joel. She has been through hell, but she feels alive. She's starting to hit her stride. She's excited to be in these situations and takes the risks needed to get the good shots. This nearly gets her killed, but Lee, now unshackled for the morbid stoicism of being a war-journalist saves her rather than taking a photo of her demise. This parallels to how Sammie saved the group earlier. Something he wouldn't have been able to do if he was still a cold blooded war journalist, as he'd have been in the same situation himself. Lee would likely have developed into a character very similar to Sammie if she hadn't gotten killed. Joel gets the big shot, he's going to make a name for himself, much like Lee had done when she documented the ANTIFA massacre (I think I recall this being her big scoop, but i could be misremembering). Jessie is now hooked on war-journalism. She will likely now develope into a character more similar to Joel. She captures a photo of Lee as she dies and is able to heartlessly move on even though she saved her life. It basically shows 4 different stages and evolutions of being a war journalist with the backdrop being an American civil war. Lee wasn't really acting out of character, it's more that her character 'came of age' at a really bad/(good?) time. I really feel like the short coming was not developing Sammie's character enough. I think if they had done more to establish how he got to where he is then drew parallels to how that same thing is happening to Lee, it would have made it more obvious what was happening to her, and it wouldn't be misinterpreted as being out of character.

This is the funniest subject matter - advertiser combo ever

I'm more impressed we got a movie that looks incredible and didn't cost a ridiculous amount at a lean 50mil. This and Godzilla Minus One showing the major studios are suffering a serious bloat problem

'admire but never want to see again' - ah, the requiem for a dream category

The fact that people in the comments want a movie to take a side is exactly the point of the movie

The last 20 minutes really brought the whole movie together for me , the sound design in IMAX for that was absolutely insane

RE: the character "betrayal" It was a psychological response to successfully passing the torch. They felt comfortable enough to feel something, because they fully trusted another person to document. At least that's how I read it.

I find it ridiculous that the controversy surrounding this movie is because people wanted the movie to side with their specific political party and instead they didn’t side with any at all, like isn’t that a good thing? Isn’t it good that this movie wasn’t pro this or pro that? I mean this is a movie guys, not the news network that you watch

I know which character you are vaguely talking about and I feel the photo they deleted, the car window, was an indication that everything had become too much for them to bear; too close to home. Notice how everything went downhill for that character after that; they were having panic attacks, crying, disconnected, etc. I do not think it was a betrayal of their character development because early in the movie, that character had flashbacks that seemed to foreshadow the mental fragility. Also, there was mention of "What's eating at you?" or "What's on your mind?" by their colleagues leading up to that. There was so much that made complete sense the second time I watched it. For instance, the President's speech in the beginning is completely different knowing what happens in the movie.

I'm glad to see that Mary Jane finally got her Photo Journalist job!

"We never learn what started the civil war." - 3rd Term President

when godzilla made an appearance… I was like holy hell this is awesome

Having nothing political to say doesn’t mean having nothing to say at all. I dont understand the people saying this movie “says nothing.” It has plenty to say from an anti-war lens, particularly the gross desensitisation and callousness that comes from choosing to constantly take in real-life horrific violence.

Plemons is ALWAYS playing the most DIABOLICAL Dude. (I keep forgetting yall take everything literally... I know he's not always bad)

A24 knows how to make Hollywood better even greater than before.

Im hearing alot of folks talk about how a civil war might be a "fun" or "good" thing. I did mission trips all over West Africa in the 90's. Ive been to and spent time in places where the system has completely broken down. I still have nightmares about what I saw almost 30 years ago.

The California Texas alliance is just crazy enough to be brilliant in its concept. Yes I know Blue and Red but (as a Californian) we have much in common. We are independent self governing states that do what we think is best for our interest, common or otherwise. Whether environmental, gun control or border politics we do as we see fit for our own best interests. Once a third term president or other power attempts to stifle that I feel common ground would be found. The combined economic, populous and military resources of the two states would be a force to be reckoned with on any stage.

I love the the part where Kirsten Dunst’s character reveals that her mentor was Frank West and tells Cailee Spaeny’s character she’s covered wars, ya know.

Civil War: Happened Journalist: I missed the part where that's my problem.

Chris Stuckman 2020 reviews: I give this move a B+ Chris Stuckman 2024 reviews: Its a Movie

Not sure the movie is for me but glad to see Kirsten Dunst getting some love. I hadn't seen her in anything for years and then last year I binged through Fargo and she was amazing in season 2.

it really is the year of cailee spaeny - priscilla, civil war and then the upcoming alien film?? girl is a star

Were you talking about when Spainee’s character just got up and walked away from her dead hero?

I love that scene that Kirsten Dunst says 'Go get then tiger'

I hope this Movie doesn’t end up like Contagion where it inadvertently predicts the future

Why is everyone leaving out 'Devs' when mentioning Garland's work? It is just as brilliant as everything else he's done.

It really captures what its like to be in the middle of gun battles. Some of the journalists get a real buzz out of it. The scenes with Jesse Plemons are riveting. The final gun battle is handled really well. Kirsten Dunst's reaction to what's going on gives it a whole other level that I have never seen before in that type of sequence.

A review like this is exactly why I love your reviews Chris. You care about the same things I do while being a realist that some things have to make money. Plan on seeing the film with my wife here in the next couple of weeks and Austin, will report back.

This movie depicts a US Civil War where California and Texas are on the same side? I guess that's good so from the start you know you're in an alternate reality.

I had a small role in this one! Just hoping I made the cut and nice review!!

In my reading, this film talks about the LACK OF EMPATHY regarding war. It is evident with journalists: Lee, experienced and successful, appears cruel when she photographs horrific scenes of violence. Meanwhile, Jessie, young and inexperienced, is affected by the war scenes. The idea of ​​the narrative is to reverse the roles. To show how, as the film progresses, Lee becomes more empathetic and Jessie becomes colder. In the end, Jessie takes the iconic photos while Lee freaks out and is shot - a moment, in fact, photographed by Jessie. Going off script, the message for me as a viewer is: we are Jessie and Lee at the same time. Wars happen all the time, all over the world. At first, like Jessie, we were shocked, but eventually we got used to the horrific scenes of violence. We got used to war. We got colder. But we are also Lee. Our lack of empathy has a certain limit. How long can we endure it? And would we be able to handle it when it was with someone close to us? Lee has photographed countless people in deplorable situations, however, her breakdown came after seeing her colleagues in the same type of situation. Then, we come to the true meta of the film: you, Americans, bring war to the whole world. There are countries, right now, in situations IDENTICAL to those shown in the film. Do you care? Of course youu don't. It's not NY or Washington. For you, and for me, "war" is that thing that appears in the news.

I saw it. I enjoyed it. I was surprised at how much order was still present, and how little crime was depicted. I would imagine that there would be a whole lot more fragmentation and disorder. There were examples of communities setting up aid stations, and policing their streets. That seems more likely to be the exception rather than the norm. I guess I was left feeling as though this movie was toothless, it didn't go far enough to depict what a true breakdown of services would be like. Empty shelves, empty gas tanks, the starvation of multitudes. When communication stops, we have no credit, no commerce, no transportation. Except for the government, and that would be busy fighting. I think it would look a lot worse.

This looks like the kind of movie that'll be really fun now and really depressing in about five years when it becomes accurate.

Chris grew up with Civil War

Just saw this, and idk about you guys but my theater has the volume turned up to like 300% the gun fights were hella loud

The hardest part for me was watching these supposed professional armies giving no quarter to surrendering troops. Neither side deserves to win in a war like that.

Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura. That's all I need.

The most horrific road film? How about The Road?

I enjoyed it. My only complaint is I wanted more world building. I want to know why the WF formed, what lead up to the war, how it began ect

Just saw this and I think most reviewers are missing things to an extent. First, for people who are REALLY that concerned with the political messaging, it gives you enough context to gather that the president is a tyrant (regardless of party) and two large states with divergent politics join up despite their differences (CA / TX). Also the things we see make the idea of this conflict unfathomably terrifying. No glorification and no pandering either. Garland handles the politics subtly CAUSE ITS NOT THE POINT. The film is most compelling and emotionally impactful by studying its characters as war photographers. A thrilling, twisted artistry that bites when showcasing the trauma involved. Finally, the action was nuts and the sound design was brilliantly horrifying.

As a recommendation for your next 'Feature Presentation', I think you should talk about Apocalypse Now. It's my, personal, all-time favorite movie. It's very similar to Civil War in that it shows some borderline horrific events hidden behind a war film. Some of the shots and imagery are branded into my subconsciousness. It's a beautifully haunting movie that I'm sure you've seen, just never talked about.

Considering the current state of the world and how mainstream audience has become disillusioned with Superhero movies, this movie could be the underdog of 2024...

I will say that the I felt that the shift in the character you mention was actually really interesting. One thing I noticed was Garland started shooting some POV shots from their perspective where the focus was off with the light splitting into red, green, and blue around edges. I took that as a sign that they were cracking under the pressure especially after that moment where they pointed out how they were still failing to process that this war was happening in the US rather than all the various counties they had visited. That shift to cracking under the pressure at the 11th hour felt very real to me especially as a photojournalist who has built a career as someone who lives as this silent observer. This crack I believed was foreshadowed by the memories flashes seen in the early part of the movie. War is Hell, and I thought it really humanized the idea that as much as we can try to be impartial observers we still have to live with the impact of what we see/choose to do. Even when you believe the best/safest thing to do is to not intervene or "take a side" that doesn't stop us from the effects of the horrors of war

I watched this movie as a photographer… visually stunning , gritty , beautiful framing and color grading

Loved a movie that doesn’t spoon out what the ‘right way’ of something major going on, but it’s these people who are experiencing ALL the everythings as they appear!

I saw this yesterday and it was a shocking movie to me, like the road trip through hell. The sound design was insanely good, especially the gunfire was so loud it almost felt like gunfire was happening in the cinema. It's one of those film were I just had to sit a while afterwards and take it all in. A few people walked out during the film as well.

I don't know if it's the safest route to tell a story. Nightcrawler tells the story that photo journalists can manipulate a scene before taking photos or video to make the story more intriguing and therefore more valuable to whoever gets the exclusive.

I have always appreciated the fact that your reviews are spoiler-free. Even on the rare occasions when you do a review with spoilers, you have a spoiler-free counterpart and both are clearly labeled. Thank you.

I just googled the release date and no matter how many times I reload it, Chrome is trying and convince me the movie came out on the first of january 1AD.

Photo Journalists, makes me want to watch bang bang club again, as harrowing as that could be.

Good review as usual, although I believe that the arcs of both main characters Lee and Jessie perfectly fit the themes of the movie. Giving no spoilers, both arcs are foreshadowed by earlier scenes, like Jessie’s increasing recklessness and feeling “more alive” but less detached in getting the photos; and Lee’s full realization that all the times she thought her foreign war shots were a “warning” back home were ultimately futile as they did not stop the second American civil war… Lee and Jessie are so haunting to me when all is said and done…

I think that odd character moment can be explained by the effect that another character was having on them. They were being reminded of themselves at a younger age and that explains why they do what they do in the last moment. They were being "woken up" ' from their stoic trance, in a way.

Please Review Late night with the devil. It's definitely going to be one of your favourite horror in years 👿😉

I will say the end had the biggest impact. To see people laying down their lives and knowing it is over then seeing a shell of a powerful man as he is will stay with me. To see, as an Australian, an office we see daily as a sign of power and peace was impactful.

I saw the movie tonight. What was the character shift?

Honestly I'm glad this is a a-24 film because id rather a natural side flim instead of picking one side over the other.

Watched the movie yesterday in IMAX. Walked out of the theater thoroughly shaken - absolutely engrossing and terrifying film.

I think "that" character deleting "that" photo, was the signifier of the start of their change in the movie from that point onwards

"The most horrific road trip movie I have ever seen." Fuck me, that subgenre includes Book of Eli and The Road.

Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny are excellent combo, i hope that someday Sofia Coppola could make a movie starring both of them

Dredd and Sunshine were his masterpieces. I hope this is good too.

“The most horrific road trip movie I’ve ever seen” that is such a good way to describe this movie 😂

Curious to find out if the character turn catches you off guard or just feels like something they'd established doesnt make sense for the character.

skip 0:30-1:37

A24 rocks. I watched Saint Maude recently and adored it. They keep making hits!

If the third act 'character" flip Chris is talking about is the one im thinking it is, its completely in character actually?

The abandoned vehicles look like the same ones on Zombie Land

Lol the advertisement 😂

I do not live in the US but was born and raised there. I saw the trailer for this in the cinema where I live. The entire audience seemed confused at the idea of it. I actually had a shiver down my spine. I don't want to see this movie until it seems a little less likely to happen.

Which character is Chris referring to at the end?

I think they did develop that character’s turn somewhat with the use of flashbacks.

28 Days Later is one of my favorite zombie movies and Ex Machina is phenomenal. I can't wait to watch this movie!

Nice sweater Chris

What's the spoiler Chris was talking about? I searched online but couldn't find it. I must know!

One of the few recent times a non-matinee movie audience was 95% quiet. I miss that.

Moura is so underrated

Woah I forgot about Garland doing Men

Hi! Are you going to do a video review about Mother's Instinct?

00:19 I feel like that’s the same abandoned highway they used in The Walking Dead season 2.

A dragon Ball hoodie, A tribute and a recall to Akira Toriyama ❤...

Chris didn’t mention it here but this movie also had some insane needle drops. Particularly that scene where the De La Soul track kicks in. I mean. Holy shit.

I assume the road trip took a long way around to DC? Isn't NY to Washington only like 4 hours?

I was just really confused about the tone and message with this movie, at one point it felt like it was making light of the events taking place and next scene it was a very heavy dark feeling and that’s what this movie missed for me a clear tone and message that it was trying to convey. Is it not so serious or very serious? It wasn’t really clear

I like the concept of Alex Garland being the next Nolan Villeneuve but I think, I may end up preferring his smaller projects. I would certainly like to see him flesh out 'Dredd' some day

I feel this movie might bomb bc people are sick of being afraid of this kinda thing actually happening/the general toxic division that is sewn everywhere you look already. Very prescient. Too prescient maybe.

As a Canadian, I died at the Canadian exchange rate in this movie 😂😂

what character is he hinting at? i watched the movie and still dont know what Stuckmann is referring to

My only complaint is that I wish it would've focused more on the media's actual impact on the progression of violence. Like, they coulda made it so the coverage itself, had an indirect influence on the escalation. It would've added a nice li'l touch of tragic irony, if the journalists were technically fueling the violence..

The question “what kind of American?” from the trailer is literally so memorable, the film does not attempt to address that question from different perspectives, which I felt was a huge let down and missed opportunity

Im surprised you haven't reviewed the new ghostbusters yet. Id love to know your thoughts

Years of Zombie Apocalypse and Super-heroes shenanigans have finally prepared us for this: What if _we_ are the bad guys, and no one's coming to save us?

Just FYI, The Older Millennial on TikTok copied this review almost word for word on his page. Looks like he’s just copying your content

Saw it last night. Fantastic film.

I appreciate the type of film your using for your reviews very nice 👍

Loved the movie, especially and most importantly for keeping it under 2 hours: 1h 49m in fact, for that alone it deserves an Oscar. Then secondly, beautifully shot, for a film about photojournalism, it’s a mesmerisingly beautiful display of photography. I think the strange editing choices and sudden cuts, which is not too dissimilar from other A24 movies keeps it sweet n short and interesting. I really appreciate it. Soundtrack was fantastic and I like that it’s ambiguous. It’s just about the group trying to get the ultimate interview and shot. It’s not for everyone, but I was so happy to get an A24 on IMAX.

As a recommendation for your next ''Feature presentation'', i would suggest Watchmen (the Director's Cut especially). Given how much of a wasteland the current landscape of Superhero has been, Watchmen has aged pretty well in my eyes and that's despite me not being a fan of Zack Snyder. Even Christopher Nolan said that it was ahead of it's time and it would have been even better if it was released Post-Avengers.