Andrew Chapman

I'm pretty surprised by some of the criticism this movie is receiving. I guess people thought it was going to be more of a straight-forward war film based on the trailers. But, watching the film, I didn't feel misled at all, and in fact, I'm pretty pleasantly surprised with what we got. Though, I can understand it. I think it's more appropriate to call this film a Thriller/Suspense movie than a War movie, though we do get some pretty impressive combat sequences in the film. The movie is lacking a deep story, which personally, I think is for the best. The movie centers around Kirsten Dunst's character, Lee, and her team of journalists as they road trip south from New York to Washington DC in an effort to document the war and, in the case of Joel (Wagner Moura), land an interview with the embattled president (Nick Offerman). The movie is primarily about what they encounter, with each encounter offering insight into what a potential civil war could look like in modern America. We have terror attacks carried out by other Americans, small-scale skirmishes between militas and the military, refugee camps, a group of rogue soldiers plundering and looting smaller communities, and large scale battles as well. The point of the film isn't why the titular war started or even who is on which side, but rather how a war would effect people in different ways. And everything is seen through the lenses of Lee and Jessie (Cailee Spaeny). Civil War frequently will show stills of the action happening on screen as Lee and Jessie, the photojournalists in the movie, snap photos of what the group encounters (but don't misunderstand, this movie is not a handheld camera movie à la Cloverfield). Joel is more interested in trying to interview the president, and Sammy (Stephen Henderson) is the older, more experienced journalist of the group. I knocked a star from the film's rating because I think the film could have fleshed some more things out. Some character motivations aren't really clear (for instance, why Sammy tags along with the group) and I would have liked a little more insight into why the war actually started (they mention some things in passing, but never dive too into it). However, these flaws don't bother me too much, as they aren't the focus of the film, as previously stated. On a technical level, the film looks great and sounds fantastic. When there is a lot of fighting going on, the gun fire is deafening. There is some pretty amazing cinematography and the still images the film inserts into the action periodically are tremendous as well. I love the licensed music that gets used in the film and I think it compliments the action well. Overall, I certainly recommend Civil War if you want a thrilling adventure traveling through a war-torn America. I also feel the movie has a poignant message about war and how devastating it would be. The film serves as a warning to those who are gung-ho about fighting and wars in general. How ever someone imagines a civil war playing out in modern America, it would be so much more destructive and tragic than the average person can conceive of, and I feel this movie does a good job portraying that.