Civil War
Civil War
An adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor's edge. A group of journalists must race through battlefields to the White House before DC falls. Featuring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Nick Offerman.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
In a war-torn America, a group of photo journalists attempt to trek from New York to DC to document the White House under siege. Seasoned war photographers Lee (Kirsten Dunst) and Joel (Wagner Moura) hope to make it the capital to photograph the president (Nick Offerman) before (or at least, as) insurgents get to him. Dunst is impeccable as the road-weary Lee. She imbues Lee with a dispassionate demeanor, persevering out of duty to record and document the truth, yet beset with a cynicism as to whether any of the images she captures make any kind difference. Joel, seems to be more of a thrill seeker, basking in the rush of getting up close to danger and driven by the notoriety of being the first to a scoop.
They’re also joined by Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an elder statesman in the photo journalism world, hitching a ride with them to the frontlines. And their last tagalong is Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), an aspiring (wannabe, perhaps) photographer who latches onto Lee for access and also in hope that she could learn from her idol. Jessie has a wide-eyed naïveté about her, throwing herself into literal crossfire without truly knowing what she’s getting herself into.
Technically, Civil War is striking production. The sound design is top notch. Bullets and concussive explosions had people jumping in their seats as the sound blanketed the auditorium. Sometimes the immersive sound design completely cuts out to emphasize the visual image. The film is littered with eye-catching visuals. As they traverse the American landscape, writer/director Alex Garland puts us mostly in Jessie’s lens, occasionally freezing the cinematic frame to highlight a still image of the violence, bloodshed, and war crimes being committed. But Jessie’s shutter often turns towards Lee, capturing her and the other journalists in center frame.
With this focus on the photo journalists, Garland maintains a much more neutral stance. The photographers are much more concerned with the power of the imagery as opposed to offering any commentary or context—and by extension, Garland is as well. That can be frustrating at times, when you want your protagonists take some kind of stance. But the conflict is all created specifically to not really align with any real life political leanings, as evidenced by the pairing of Texas and California as the Western forces.
Ultimately, Civil War is a harrowing road trip film. The group faces some incredibly tense, obstacles en route to DC, most notably the run-in with Jesse Plemons that we caught of glimpse of in the trailer. The military action set pieces elevate the mostly character driven drama, anchored by the relationship between Lee and Jessie. Dunst and Spaeny are both magnificent. I know Spaeny’s star is already rising, but I really hope to see Dunst in more leading roles like this moving forward.
Civil War is worthy of checking out on the big screen for its imagery, sound design and notable leading performances. It’s not quite as though provoking as I was expecting (or perhaps hoping), but I was still fully engaged with the characters and story from start to finish. I could see this rating going up on rewatch, I’m just not sure when I would want to rewatch it, at least anytime soon.