Review: Civil War

Civil War imagines a future America torn apart by another civil war, and the people who have to cover the story. Written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), it stars Kirsten Dunst (Power of the Dog) and Caelee Spaeny (Priscilla).Alex Garland's film Civil War has caused ructions in the United States because it offers no explanations of how the war in question came about, or any way to rectify one. It's just there, in the same way the incurable virus was there in zombie movie 28 Days Later, or the seemingly sentient robot in Ex Machina - both Garland scripts.Civil War is mostly about the people covering it. The war itself was an uprising - or a series of uprisings - among people rebelling when a President refused to step down. Unlike the last civil war, it's not simple blue uniforms versus grey ones. Some of the combatants don't even wear uniforms, which leads to confusion.The film opens on the President, a shifty Nick Offerman, claiming total victory over the Western Force and the Florida Alliance. And he's the President. Who's going to contradict him? Certainly not the media.Most journalists are embedded with various armies, only reporting what they're allowed to see. But a few independent correspondents prefer to make their own way, trying to cover all sides.Meet Lee and Joel - highly experienced photojournalists from wars all round the world, and now shocked to find themselves plying their trade at home. They're played by Kirsten Dunst and Brazilian star Wagner Moura. We pick them up heading to what looks like the war's endgame at the capital.On the way they agree to give a lift to old print journalist Sammy - veteran character actor Stephen McKinley Henderson. And against Lee's better judgement, Joel invites rookie photographer Jessie - Priscilla star Cailee Spaeny - along for the ride too.Most of the movie is essentially four people in a truck, going through hell. Civil War asks the question pretty much every war film asks; 'How did we get here?' And it also asks, 'What's the job of a reporter anyway?' Is it to make sense of what they're seeing? Is it to do something about it? Turns out it's neither of those things.The point is to show what's going on, that's all, according to hard-bitten Lee. And this is mostly Lee's story. Not old hand Sammy, who's seen too much to trust anyone, or wide-eyed Jessie, who hasn't seen anything much and is in for a lot of nasty surprises.The closest thing to an old-fashioned war hero in the group is gung-ho Joel. He's the first into action, he's the one having the most fun, because for him it's still a game. …Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details