Civil War Reviews Turn Sci-Fi Dystopia Into Must-See Movie Of The Year, See The Incredible Responses
It can be quite difficult for original movies to develop traction among critics and audiences when sequels and reboots have often come to dominate people’s attention. So it speaks especially well of a movie that still manages to make a splash these days as a totally new project. With the upcoming movie Civil War, the reviews are already coming out and there is a lot of praise building around the film.
The Civil War Story
Contrary to what the name might lead you to believe, Civil War is not a historical drama focused on our own real-life Civil War from long ago. Instead, the movie is set in modern times and is about a current-day civil war that has broken out in America.
It depicts the American government attempting to be overthrown, and two sides erupt from the dispute. There are those who are loyal to the existing government and want to preserve it, and on the other side, the separatists known as the Western Forces, being led by Texas and California.
It is an admittedly difficult topic to navigate in today’s political climate, but Civil War reviews are complimenting the intelligence with which the movie is handled.
Modern-Day Struggles
One area the Civil War reviews speak highly of is the movie wisely, not overly politicizing either side of the conflict. It could have been very easy for the movie to take a firm stance that would have made it an allegory for modern-day struggles and wind up having the story labeled as propaganda.
Critics enjoyed that the movie instead focused on the war torn country that has resulted from the conflict, and the moments of humanity that we see for people of both factions throughout the movie.
Journalistic Perspective
Siddhant Adlakha of Inverse discusses the wisdom of focusing on the story from the perspective of the journalists, who are the main characters in Civil War and are attempting to chronicle the living history taking place.
Discussing Civil War in the site’s review, they write, “Civil War lays out this plot roadmap early and simply. There are no winding turns that spin the movie on its head, no genre twists that alter its fabric.
There are, however, dangerous detours that function as bone-chilling vignettes. Each violent escalation along their route forces our protagonists to hunker down and think long and hard about their journalistic calling.”
Frightening And Even-Tempered
Those thoughts on the story of Civil War were echoed in other reviews, such as for Slant Magazine where writer Rocco T. Thompson said the movie was “Frightening, even-tempered, and disarmingly humane, Civil War is intelligent precision filmmaking trained on an impossible subject.”
As the Civil War reviews explain, putting unbiased journalists at the center of the story gives the audience an easy access point to empathize with.
Like these characters, we do not know enough about either side to say whose cause is more just. We do, however, know that the violence being committed is unconscionable. Critics say the movie functions almost like a documentary of a warzone, similar to something like the Tom Hanks classic Saving Private Ryan.
Civil War Is A Critical Hit
Civil War currently sits at an 89% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes, with reviews commonly calling it a difficult and unsettling watch. It sounds as if those looking for something substantial behind all the action will have plenty to mull over after the credits roll.
Ordinary People, Horrible Circumstances
Reviews discuss how the characters encounter pictures of moments framed as moments of triumph, and then we see the anguish it took in real time to achieve those moments and the toll it took on the lives of all involved.
It seems that instead of demonizing either end of the conflict, the message the movie will be asking the audience to consider is the ordinary people behind the lines that divide us in real life.
Civil War releases in theaters on April 12, 2024.
