Civil War, the new dystopian film from Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) that follows a group of journalists attempting to make their way across a divided U.S. during a civil war, features some of the best combat sequences that audiences will see in a film, according to a new trailer that A24 shared yesterday with positive quotes from critics ahead of its release in theaters this Friday, April 12. The cast includes Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura, who fans know from the Elite Squad films and Netflix’s Narcos series.
The final trailer, and a synopsis:
A journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House. An adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a near-future fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge.
What the U.S. looks like in Civil War:
Top critics are saying:
- “Garland’s sharpest, most visionary rendering yet of the world gone wrong.”
- “It’s one of the best movies of the year. And among journalists, at least, it should be one of the most-talked about.”
- “With horrific wars raging in other parts of the world, and with politically charged violence part of the fabric of this country, ‘Civil War’ will hit home no matter where you live.”
- “It’s a film about the open-ended question of how much humanity we as a species have left in us, and that makes it a provocative, thrilling monster of a movie that will sear itself into your eyeballs.”
- “An upsetting sensory experience accompanied by thundering cacophonies and paralyzing scenes of war and savagery so vast, intense, and overwhelming that you can practically taste the gunpowder lingering in the air.”
The full poster:
Garland on what’s next, as reported by The Guardian:
…I read an interview conducted during Civil War’s shoot, in which [Garland] declared his intention to give up directing and retreat to only writing, I assume they must have caught him on a bad day. Here, now, surrounded by framed posters of his past triumphs and with his latest opus ready for release, does he still feel the same? “Nothing’s changed,” he says flatly. “I’m in a very similar state. I’m not planning to direct again in the foreseeable future.”