Garland’s sometimes tonally suspect fourth feature isn’t as sharp or clear-eyed as it set out to be, but it is technically strong and works as a cautionary tale as journalists attempt to chronicle the chaos and violence that come from an imploding America.

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After the generally more lukewarmly received Men (2022), Civil War will likely be regarded as a direct improvement for writer-director Alex Garland, though it is far from the show-stopping standards of Ex Machina (2014) and Annihilation (2018). 

Here, he tackles something that might conceivably happen in the near future in America: the breaking up of the United States as alliances are formed that threaten a power vacuum in the government. 

I didn’t particularly enjoy it, mainly because Garland doesn’t quite know what he wants to say about the fiery, mudslinging politics plaguing US politics today. 

Not every film needs a message but Civil War is begging for something sharp and clear-eyed to emerge from the chaos by the time the credits roll.  However, this doesn’t quite materialise, though as a cinematic experience, it likely won’t disappoint audiences hoping for bloody carnage. 

Shot from the point-of-view of reporters and photojournalists, Civil War follows them on a necessary if dangerous road trip to Washington D.C. in hopes of photographing and getting a quote from the now elusive President, whose head is on the chopping board. 

“What kind of American are you?”

Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and very promisingly, Cailee Spaeny (she played the titular role in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla (2023), and will be seen later this year in Alien: Romulus), headline Garland’s film, with a bone-chilling cameo from Jesse Plemons in the film’s tensest segment. 

Technically strong and with evidence of visual panache in the staging of urban warfare, Civil War shows us images that would have been deemed a fantasy just a decade ago. 

As America comes under fire from within, and as courageous journalists risk their lives to chronicle the events for posterity, we are left with an onslaught of violence that Garland may be accused of trivialising through odd choices of songs that act as tonal counterpoints. 

I’m not convinced they work effectively for a film with such a serious subject matter, but if he meant to satirise the pointless deaths of innocent (or complicit) Americans that a civil war would beget, then let it be a cautionary tale for its primary audience.

Grade: B

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