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I saw the movie today. There are some intense scenes. Some good action scenes. The last 45 minutes felt like the movie kicked into a higher gear. I give it a B+. Don’t see it if you are not inclined to do so. These are just my impressions after having just seen it.

The director also did Ex Machina for A24 earlier in his career. To me, it was a genuine and good sci-fi movie made in a time that didn’t seem to make any. Based on the strength of that—and I found the trailers picquing my interest—I gave it a shot.

The movie doesn’t explain the situation. Only presents that the US is fragmented into four separate groups, spearheaded by the Western Alliance composed if the unlikely allies of Texas and California. The movie tips early that the Alliance is winning and is making a final push on DC.

I won’t argue with anyone who genuinely thinks the crumbling US is being led by an avatar represent Trump. The movie gives the viewers enough prompts you need to reach that conclusion if they want.

The prompts I saw that weigh against that conclusion:

1) Biden is the all-but-stated third term for Obama. The movie President is in their third term. Only Democrats have the sort of machinery in place to give one of their pets a third term.

2) The movie Preseident is conducting a last-ditch defense in DC with loyalists in the Armed Forces and Secret Service. DC is famous for being utterly _dis_loyal to Trump. Trump couldn’t bring in the National Guard to DC. Pelosi saw to that and brought them in when _she_ wanted to. I think the DC Swamp would fight to the last for Biden even as they disemble, apologize, and spin for him now.

3) The movie opens with the President offering a fragmented speech about a smashing victory for the government’s forces. Only Biden tells whoppers on that scale with a straight face. Trump is braggadicious. But I don’t think (personally) that he’d lie and say a great victory was won where the truth was closer to the opposite. More importantly, only Biden has ever issued veiled threats about using F-15s against We the People. At some point in the movie’s past history, the movie President did indeed do something of the sort.

The protagonists in the movie are journalsts. And for the most part, they run around as if the press passes they wear around their next will ward away bullets. And a surprising amount of the time, it does. (Until it doesn’t) I just take it as given the movie gave them the plot armor necessary to tell all the vignette. The characters are likeable and Sam (the old journalist past retirement) is without question the smartest of them.

The group encounters what I think were four different local militias in the first half or so of the film. Mostly they maintain what ground they hold and exhibit different amounts of zeal in separating “the wheat from the chaff.” Only in one vignette is the standard given a hard reveal. I think it is possible that they fight among each other for reasons the movie does not reveal. One group apoears to be dressed as “Boogaloo Boys” (if you remember them) while others dye their hair in a way that may identify who they are or may aid in suburban camoflauge. Possibly both.

The Western Alliance is organized, well-supplied, heavily-armed, mostly professional, and wears their flag on their sleeve. We get a look at them late in the film. While few buy that Texas and California would ever align together for any reason, it goes to the movie’s premise that it’s not a simple red-state-versus-blue-state divide. Both states have major military bases and in some ways it makes sense that they would combine their forces to be unbeatable n the field rather than squander what they have on each other. ...If you can accept that they would do such a thing. The movie is based on it to tell its final chapters.

The biggest thing that makes me reserve judgement in the “reighteousness” of the

The movie is really about the saga of the four journalist. We’re supposed to focus on them and how they get through to the end of their epic journey and less on the war that is happening around. That will be harder to do since the movie is called Civil War.

With some good will to the director and some big suspension of disbelief, I “enjoyed” the movie. It was good (enough, for me.) It’s not easy to recommend, however. Basically, if you enjoyed the director’s earlier Ex Machina, I think there is a fair chance you will also enjoy Civil War or at least find enough engagement to make it worth your while. If you’re looking for a movie about who’d win in a red-state-versus-blue-state war, this is not that movie. It’s not a feel-good nor popcorn movie.