Civil War (film): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
m →‎Plot: edited for style
Grammar
Line 101: Line 101:
===Critical response===
===Critical response===
[[File:2024-03-14 SXSW Civil-War 1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Dunst's performance was widely praised, including by those who reviewed the film more negatively.<ref name="RTSXSW" />]]
[[File:2024-03-14 SXSW Civil-War 1 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|Dunst's performance was widely praised, including by those who reviewed the film more negatively.<ref name="RTSXSW" />]]
Following the SXSW premiere, [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]] noted that critics said the film has "a gorgeously shot cautionary tale full of big ideas and a fantastic performance by Kirsten Dunst, but it may surprise some viewers". Critics praised the "beauty and intensity of the dystopian drama", while noting its "potential for controversy and disappointment" due to the effectiveness of its messages.<ref name="RTSXSW">{{Cite web |title=Civil War First Reviews: Haunting, Thought-Provoking, and Probably Not What You Think It Is |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/civil-war-first-reviews-haunting-thought-provoking-and-probably-not-what-you-think-it-is/ |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en-US}}</ref> On the site, 84% of 164 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Tough and unsettling by design, ''Civil War'' is a gripping close-up look at the violent uncertainty of life in a nation in crisis."<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Civil War'' |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/civil_war_2024 |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |language=en}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|78|46|ref=yes|access-date=April 11, 2024}}
Following the SXSW premiere, [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]] noted that critics called the film "a gorgeously shot cautionary tale full of big ideas and a fantastic performance by Kirsten Dunst, but it may surprise some viewers". Critics praised the "beauty and intensity of the dystopian drama", while noting its "potential for controversy and disappointment" due to the effectiveness of its messages.<ref name="RTSXSW">{{Cite web |title=Civil War First Reviews: Haunting, Thought-Provoking, and Probably Not What You Think It Is |url=https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/civil-war-first-reviews-haunting-thought-provoking-and-probably-not-what-you-think-it-is/ |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en-US}}</ref> On the site, 84% of 164 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Tough and unsettling by design, ''Civil War'' is a gripping close-up look at the violent uncertainty of life in a nation in crisis."<ref>{{Cite web |title=''Civil War'' |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/civil_war_2024 |access-date=April 12, 2024 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media]] |language=en}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|78|46|ref=yes|access-date=April 11, 2024}}


In a positive review, Peter Debruge of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "Garland's the last person to suggest a group hug. As statements go, his powerful vision leaves us shaken, effectively repeating the question that quelled the [[1992 Los Angeles riots|L.A. riots]]: Can we all get along?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/civil-war-review-1235942401/|title='Civil War' Review: Alex Garland Tears America Apart, Counting on Divided Audiences to Prevent His Worst-Case Horror Show|first=Peter|last=Debruge|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 14, 2024|access-date=March 15, 2024}}</ref> [[Robbie Collin]] of ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' awarded the movie five stars out of five, writing that "The ''Ex Machina'' director's vision of an imploding America is neither anti-Trump nor anti-woke. Instead it's as riveting as cinema gets."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2024/03/26/civil-war-review-alex-garland-kirsten-dunst |title=Civil War, review: Alex Garland's Apocalypse Now for centrists thrills at every turn|website=The Telegraph |date=26 March 2024|access-date=27 March 2024}}</ref> [[Matt Zoller Seitz]], writing for ''[[RogerEbert.com]]'', compared ''Civil War'' to films about "Western journalists covering the collapse of foreign countries", such as ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]'' and ''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'', ultimately praising the film as "furiously convincing and disturbing".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zoller Seitz |first1=Matt |title=Civil War |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/civil-war-movie-review-2024 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|date=April 10, 2024|access-date=April 10, 2024}}</ref>
In a positive review, Peter Debruge of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote, "Garland's the last person to suggest a group hug. As statements go, his powerful vision leaves us shaken, effectively repeating the question that quelled the [[1992 Los Angeles riots|L.A. riots]]: Can we all get along?"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/civil-war-review-1235942401/|title='Civil War' Review: Alex Garland Tears America Apart, Counting on Divided Audiences to Prevent His Worst-Case Horror Show|first=Peter|last=Debruge|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=March 14, 2024|access-date=March 15, 2024}}</ref> [[Robbie Collin]] of ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'' awarded the movie five stars out of five, writing that "The ''Ex Machina'' director's vision of an imploding America is neither anti-Trump nor anti-woke. Instead it's as riveting as cinema gets."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2024/03/26/civil-war-review-alex-garland-kirsten-dunst |title=Civil War, review: Alex Garland's Apocalypse Now for centrists thrills at every turn|website=The Telegraph |date=26 March 2024|access-date=27 March 2024}}</ref> [[Matt Zoller Seitz]], writing for ''[[RogerEbert.com]]'', compared ''Civil War'' to films about "Western journalists covering the collapse of foreign countries", such as ''[[The Year of Living Dangerously (film)|The Year of Living Dangerously]]'' and ''[[Welcome to Sarajevo]]'', ultimately praising the film as "furiously convincing and disturbing".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zoller Seitz |first1=Matt |title=Civil War |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/civil-war-movie-review-2024 |website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|date=April 10, 2024|access-date=April 10, 2024}}</ref>

Revision as of 13:36, 12 April 2024

This article is about the 2024 film. For the 2016 film, see Captain America: Civil War.

Civil War
Two soldiers are positioned on the Statue of Liberty’s torch.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAlex Garland
Written byAlex Garland
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyRob Hardy
Edited byJake Roberts
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • March 14, 2024 (2024-03-14) (SXSW)
  • April 12, 2024 (2024-04-12) (United Kingdom/United States)
Running time
109 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$50 million[3]

Civil War is a 2024 dystopian film written and directed by Alex Garland. The film stars Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Nick Offerman. Its plot follows a team of journalists who travel across the United States during a rapidly escalating Second American Civil War, which has engulfed the entire nation.

Civil War had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States by A24 and in the United Kingdom by Entertainment Film Distributors on April 12, 2024. The film received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

Map depicting the division of the United States in the movie
  Loyalist states
  Western Forces
  Florida Alliance
  New People's Army

In the near future, a rapidly escalating multiparty civil war engulfs all of the United States which has become a dystopian dictatorship under its President, who is serving his third term. Renowned and hardened photojournalist Lee Smith rescues Jessie, a young photographer who idolizes Lee, from a bombing in New York City.

Lee and her colleague Joel wish to travel to Washington, D.C. to exclusively interview the President by the Fourth of July, before the rebel factions advance onto the capital. Despite trying to dissuade the group that the trip is highly dangerous, their mentor and veteran reporter Sammy joins them to head to the front lines at Charlottesville, Virginia, while Jessie tags along as she aspires to become a war journalist herself. Lee, Joel, and Sammy guide Jessie in the field as she experiences front line combat for the first time, capturing urban warfare between the U.S. military and the resistant militias.

Following stops at a refugee camp and an idyllic small town, as well as evading a rogue sniper, the four meet up with their Hongkonger reporter colleagues Tony and Bohai. However, the six encounter extremist and nationalist militia soldiers who execute civilians and bury them in a mass grave; the soldiers kill Tony and Bohai before Sammy rescues his colleagues by running over two of the soldiers. Jessie is traumatized and Sammy is mortally wounded during their escape; he later succumbs to his wounds as the group reach a Western Forces (WF) camp in Charlottesville, where some Loyalist generals have surrendered prior to their arrival.

The group accompany the WF as they storm Washington, D.C., with Jessie being more proactive in covering the gunfire while Joel helps Lee through a PTSD episode. At the heavily-guarded White House, a firefight occurs between the WF and the Secret Service. Lee is killed saving Jessie from the crossfire, to which she photographs the death of her mentor.

The WF soldiers find the President hiding in the Oval Office, where an enraged Joel forgoes his interview for a final quote. The President begs Joel for mercy before Jessie takes a photo of his summary execution. During the credits, a developing photo of the WF soldiers smiling and standing over the President's corpse appears.

Cast

Production

In January 2022, it was reported that Alex Garland had signed on to write and direct the film for A24, with Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Cailee Spaeny to star.[5] In April, Karl Glusman was announced as part of the cast.[6] In a May interview with The Daily Telegraph, Garland described the film as a companion piece to his 2022 film Men, and said it is "set at an indeterminate point in the future–just far enough ahead for me to add a conceit—and serves as a sci-fi allegory for our currently polarized predicament". In the same interview, Sonoya Mizuno was revealed as part of the cast, having appeared in all of Garland's previous films.[7]

Principal photography began in Atlanta on March 15, 2022.[8][9] By May, production had moved to London.[10] The production budget for Civil War was $50 million, making it A24's most expensive film.[3]

In a March 2024 interview with The Guardian, Garland stated that after Civil War, he intends to step back from directing and only focus on writing.[11]

Release

The film's world premiere at South by Southwest

Civil War had its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 14, 2024, with favourable reactions from the audience and to positive reviews from the critics.[12][13]

The film was previously scheduled to be released on April 26, 2024.[14][15] It was released on April 12, 2024, in the United States by A24 and in the United Kingdom by Entertainment Film, with engagements in IMAX and Dolby Cinema.[16][17] The American Civil War also began on April 12, exactly 163 years before the film's release date.[18]

Reception

Box office

The film is projected to earn $18–24 million in its opening weekend.[19]

Critical response

Dunst's performance was widely praised, including by those who reviewed the film more negatively.[20]

Following the SXSW premiere, review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes noted that critics called the film "a gorgeously shot cautionary tale full of big ideas and a fantastic performance by Kirsten Dunst, but it may surprise some viewers". Critics praised the "beauty and intensity of the dystopian drama", while noting its "potential for controversy and disappointment" due to the effectiveness of its messages.[20] On the site, 84% of 164 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Tough and unsettling by design, Civil War is a gripping close-up look at the violent uncertainty of life in a nation in crisis."[21] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[22]

In a positive review, Peter Debruge of Variety wrote, "Garland's the last person to suggest a group hug. As statements go, his powerful vision leaves us shaken, effectively repeating the question that quelled the L.A. riots: Can we all get along?"[23] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph awarded the movie five stars out of five, writing that "The Ex Machina director's vision of an imploding America is neither anti-Trump nor anti-woke. Instead it's as riveting as cinema gets."[24] Matt Zoller Seitz, writing for RogerEbert.com, compared Civil War to films about "Western journalists covering the collapse of foreign countries", such as The Year of Living Dangerously and Welcome to Sarajevo, ultimately praising the film as "furiously convincing and disturbing".[25]

Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a positive review, writing, "With the precision and length of its violent battle sequences, it's clear Civil War operates as a clarion call. Garland wrote the film in 2020 as he watched cogs on America's self-mythologizing exceptionalist machine turn, propelling the nation into a nightmare. With this latest film, he sounds the alarm, wondering less about how a country walks blindly into its own destruction and more about what happens when it does."[26]

References

  1. ^ "Ben Salisbury & Geoff Barrow Scoring Alex Garland's 'Civil War'". filmmusicreporter.com. Archived from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Civil War (15)". BBFC. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Welk, Brian (December 28, 2023). "Alex Garland's Civil War Is Not 195 Minutes Long Despite Reports". IndieWire. Archived from the original on December 28, 2023. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Juneau, Jen (December 13, 2023). "Kirsten Dunst Documents a Divided America — Under a President Nick Offerman — in Shocking Civil War Trailer". People. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  5. ^ Grobar, Matt (January 21, 2022). "Alex Garland Reteams With A24 For Action Epic Civil War; Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura & More Set To Star". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Russell, Calum (April 30, 2022). "Why Kirsten Dunst feels disillusioned with Hollywood". Far Out Magazine. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Collin, Robbie (May 28, 2022). "Ex Machina's Alex Garland: 'If I did a Marvel movie, it would be a disaster'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  8. ^ "Civil War". Film & Television Industry Alliance. February 21, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  9. ^ Hardy, Rob (March 22, 2022). "Nothing civil in war". Instagram. Archived from the original on January 3, 2024. Retrieved May 4, 2022.
  10. ^ Lattanzio, Ryan (May 17, 2022). "Alex Garland Knows He's Made the Most Inscrutable Movie of His Career with Men". IndieWire. Archived from the original on June 19, 2022. Retrieved June 19, 2022.
  11. ^ Jones, Ellen E. (March 30, 2024). "Civil War film-maker Alex Garland: 'In the US and UK there's a lot to be very concerned about'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  12. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (February 22, 2024). "A24's Action Thriller Civil War, Starring Kirsten Dunst, to Premiere at SXSW (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  13. ^ Galuppo, Mia; Hibberd, James (March 15, 2024). "Civil War First Reactions From Premiere: "Scary as Hell Cautionary Tale"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Grobar, Matt (December 13, 2023). "Civil War Trailer & Release Date: America Becomes A Battleground In Alex Garland's A24 Pic Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura & Cailee Spaeny". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 13, 2023. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  15. ^ "'Civil War': A24 and Imax to Offer Sneak Peek of Alex Garland's Film as Part of New Screening Program". The Hollywood Reporter. March 13, 2024.
  16. ^ "All Future Releases". Film Distributors Association. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  17. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (January 18, 2024). "A24's Alex Garland 'Civil War' Shifts Earlier In April". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  18. ^ "Civil War begins as Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter". History. November 24, 2009. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  19. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 21, 2024). "A24's Civil War Plotting $18M-$24M Opening Boosted By Imax – Box Office Preview". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Civil War First Reviews: Haunting, Thought-Provoking, and Probably Not What You Think It Is". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  21. ^ "Civil War". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  22. ^ "Civil War". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  23. ^ Debruge, Peter (March 14, 2024). "'Civil War' Review: Alex Garland Tears America Apart, Counting on Divided Audiences to Prevent His Worst-Case Horror Show". Variety. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  24. ^ "Civil War, review: Alex Garland's Apocalypse Now for centrists thrills at every turn". The Telegraph. March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  25. ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (April 10, 2024). "Civil War". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  26. ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (March 14, 2024). "'Civil War' Review: Alex Garland's Dystopian Thriller Starring Kirsten Dunst Stimulates the Intellect, if Not the Emotions". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 15, 2024.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Civil_War_(film)&oldid=1218564801"