Kirsten Dunst Dominates Max In Heart-Pounding Dystopian Thriller
Throughout her career, audiences have seen Kirsten Dunst stand out in numerous projects, but her latest performance as a photojournalist in Alex Garland’s Civil War is a step above the rest.
Alongside a dynamic cast that also includes Cailee Spaeny (Alien: Romulus), Wagner Moura (Narcos: Mexico), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Dune: Part One), and her husband, Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog), Dunst’s powerhouse performance carries the film as the main characters race to get to Washington, D.C. before the President (Nick Offerman) is captured.
The movie has been available on Max for a few weeks and continues to hold the coveted number one position on the streamer’s Top 10.
Kirsten Dunst In Civil War
Having long photographed various uprisings and other tragic events from around the world, Kirsten Dunst’s Lee Smith is just having another day at work when her path crosses with Jessie Collin’s (Spaeny) during the opening scene of Civil War.
A suicide bomber has detonated their device and sent the streets of New York City into a panic when Lee spots Jessie snapping pictures without taking any safety measures. The pair’s interaction is short, but Lee gives Jessie a vest, and the young woman immediately recognizes the famous photographer.
An Intense Epic
They part ways, but Jessie soon finds Lee and her cohorts – Joel (Moura) and Sammy (Henderson) – planning their trip from New York City to Washington D.C. to get to the White House before one of the secessionist groups does.
Despite Lee’s hesitancy, Jessie weasels her way in with the team of travelers and thus begins one of the most unnerving, edge-of-your-seat action thrillers of the last 10 years.
The dynamic between Kirsten Dunst’s character and her companions is part of what makes Civil War the intense epic that it is, with Jessie learning from all three of the professionals and sort of coming-of-age – or at least into the realities of the profession – by the end of the movie.
Alex Garland’s Movie
The title is the latest to come from Academy Award-nominee Alex Garland, who, after finding massive success from penning the screenplays for such hits as 28 Days Later, tried his hand at directing through 2014’s Ex Machina, which he also wrote.
Since then, the filmmaker has been bringing audiences nothing but the best as far as sci-fi thrillers are concerned, having also backed Annihilation and Men.
While Alex Garland and Kirsten Dunst paired up for the first time in Civil War, he previously worked with Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Nick Offerman on Hulu’s sci-fi thriller series Devs.
Completely Realistic
From that very beginning scene when Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny’s characters meet, Civil War doesn’t let off the gas for a second. To say the movie is intense feels like an understatement, and if you saw it in cinemas, you’ll know what we mean.
While the sounds of continuous gunshots, circling choppers, and exploding devices might not be as noisy in your home theater, the unsettling moments (particularly in the scene featuring Jesse Plemons) will make your skin crawl.
Streaming Civil War
With career-defining performances from Kirsten Dunst and the rest of the movie’s top-tier cast paired with another well-penned script and visual direction from Alex Garland, it’s easy to understand how and why Civil War landed an 81% Critics Rating on Rotten Tomatoes. See what all the hype is about for yourself, as the movie is now streaming on Max.
