One divisive film.
A-hem. Kinda ballsy to throw up a classic big budget Hollywood blockbuster about an America gone rogue when that possibility has never been more, uh, possible. Is director-writer Alex Garland stoking a dangerous fire? Is he firing a cautionary flare in hopes of scaring the masses into coming to their collective senses? Is he just being a cheeky Brit pressing buttons from the sidelines? Who knows? Whatever the case, it is quite the spectacle, and does make for some thrilling entertainment.
Plenty has been discussed about the vagaries of this conflict, and that is the big lure of this epic. We have a split America, waging full out war against itself in some bizarre and confusing regional alliances. Confusing enough that the sides are hard to identify (damn you camo!), and hard to cheer for. It is all a bit confusing. Garland delivers his apolitical political mess through the eyes of journalists, who bravely (stupidly) run straight into the lines of fire, claiming impartiality.
If "Civil War" were to remain vague it would have worked. Worked as a tense, heart-racing thriller about a group of clicheed misfits (of course) bent on delivering stories from the battle lines. Starts out that way, as the set up is murky yet enticingly so. But Garland gets carried away, or maybe he was carried away by others, and instead of settling on an open-ended story (way more chilling), he takes sides and decides on a tidy conclusion which is as preposterous as it is eye-rolling predictable.
Too bad, because properly executed, this has the makings of great cinema. Kirsten Dunst is the war veteran shutterbug, all business and no emotion, until of course she suddenly gets stupid. Ouch. With no backstory nor character development, she is wasted in a sleepwalking role. A lead character we should care for deeply, yet one who looks bored for the duration and blurs all too easily into the background.
Thankfully there are supporting characters. Or character. Kudos to Jesse Plemons and his five minutes of chilling killin'. Yes, re-delivering his "Breaking Bad" turn, but still super creepy great. This is the scene of the year: tense, simmering, unnerving, tough to look at but impossible to look away. Especially for an IMAX experience. Technically astounding, "Civil War" sounds and looks great on a big curvy screen with thundering aural blasts. Probably not gonna be so awesome on a small screen.
The movie is cleverly bookended by the haunting and unsettling strains of Suicide ("Rocket USA", and "Dream Baby Dream"), but leaves the middle bit wanting. There is lots to digest and spar over, but the movie never decides whether it wants to be an apolitical look at journalists in the throws of a meaningless war (as if there are other kinds), or a detailed political stance on the fracture of Democracy as we know it. It does neither.
A-hem. Kinda ballsy to throw up a classic big budget Hollywood blockbuster about an America gone rogue when that possibility has never been more, uh, possible. Is director-writer Alex Garland stoking a dangerous fire? Is he firing a cautionary flare in hopes of scaring the masses into coming to their collective senses? Is he just being a cheeky Brit pressing buttons from the sidelines? Who knows? Whatever the case, it is quite the spectacle, and does make for some thrilling entertainment.
Plenty has been discussed about the vagaries of this conflict, and that is the big lure of this epic. We have a split America, waging full out war against itself in some bizarre and confusing regional alliances. Confusing enough that the sides are hard to identify (damn you camo!), and hard to cheer for. It is all a bit confusing. Garland delivers his apolitical political mess through the eyes of journalists, who bravely (stupidly) run straight into the lines of fire, claiming impartiality.
If "Civil War" were to remain vague it would have worked. Worked as a tense, heart-racing thriller about a group of clicheed misfits (of course) bent on delivering stories from the battle lines. Starts out that way, as the set up is murky yet enticingly so. But Garland gets carried away, or maybe he was carried away by others, and instead of settling on an open-ended story (way more chilling), he takes sides and decides on a tidy conclusion which is as preposterous as it is eye-rolling predictable.
Too bad, because properly executed, this has the makings of great cinema. Kirsten Dunst is the war veteran shutterbug, all business and no emotion, until of course she suddenly gets stupid. Ouch. With no backstory nor character development, she is wasted in a sleepwalking role. A lead character we should care for deeply, yet one who looks bored for the duration and blurs all too easily into the background.
Thankfully there are supporting characters. Or character. Kudos to Jesse Plemons and his five minutes of chilling killin'. Yes, re-delivering his "Breaking Bad" turn, but still super creepy great. This is the scene of the year: tense, simmering, unnerving, tough to look at but impossible to look away. Especially for an IMAX experience. Technically astounding, "Civil War" sounds and looks great on a big curvy screen with thundering aural blasts. Probably not gonna be so awesome on a small screen.
The movie is cleverly bookended by the haunting and unsettling strains of Suicide ("Rocket USA", and "Dream Baby Dream"), but leaves the middle bit wanting. There is lots to digest and spar over, but the movie never decides whether it wants to be an apolitical look at journalists in the throws of a meaningless war (as if there are other kinds), or a detailed political stance on the fracture of Democracy as we know it. It does neither.
- hipCRANK.