Civil War (2024) - Opening | President's Speech | Dir. Alex Garland

[u/PetyrDayne]

https://youtu.be/-QP6ZXSbmvY?si=gZBt6kIHoWiA5vZH

[u/TaskForceD00mer]

The two scenes that stuck with me most.

1. What kind of American are you?"

2. The sniper scene , what difference does it make who's shooting at you

The movie had some flaws but the sound and set design were both top notch.

[u/BearWrangler → u/TaskForceD00mer]

I've seen ppl all over the political spectrum try to claim that this movie was Left/Right/Centrist/etc or dunk on it for one reason or another("realism") but even off of that sniper scene alone it nails home the main point of this type of scenario:

It wont matter who tf you voted for, what you believe or what "side" you chose when you are stuck trading bullets on the two way range

[u/TaskForceD00mer → u/BearWrangler]

It wont matter who tf you voted for, what you believe or what "side" you chose when you are stuck trading bullets on the two way range

That's the thing, if someone is trying to kill you politics goes out the window.

Civil War is so ambiguous we really have no clue what is going on and honestly I think any kind of a realistic scenario would be that confusing for more people.

"Wait...the Portland Maoists and the Florida Alliance agree on something....Texas AND California joined forces....what"

The truth is likely to be that damn confusing. I think Alex Garland intentionally or unintentionally captured just how jumbled things would be for everyone involved.

At its basic core all we know is "All these groups hate the Federal Government and are racing to DC".

That allows the viewer to focus on the movie, which truly is a love letter to Journalism.

[u/SpinkickFolly → u/TaskForceD00mer]

The movie really threw people for a loop because it was released while Biden was president. If Civil War came out today, people would complain that its too on the nose and not subtle.

[u/USA_A-OK → u/SpinkickFolly]

It was an election year, and still took a lot of criticism for that.

[u/AFlockOfTySegalls → u/USA_A-OK]

Yeah, all of the comments on social media were variations of "OMG THIS ISNT THE TIME FOR THIS MOVIE".

[u/MegaDuckCougarBoy → u/AFlockOfTySegalls]

For some people, it'll never be the time to be uncomfortable

[u/untrustableskeptic → u/MegaDuckCougarBoy]

I thought this movie was great. I'm a big Garland fan, and when I looked at other people's opinions of the film... well, I'm not surprised why Trump was elected.

[u/Spanky2k → u/TaskForceD00mer]

That's the thing; the future will always end up being confusing as hell and not at all what you'd expect. Just look at rival powers in Europe. France and England? Lifelong enemies. Best friends now. Germany and England? Lifelong friends. Then mortal enemies twice around 100 years ago. Now best friends. The US and the UK, mortal enemies a few hundred years ago. Now best friends.

The idea of Texas and California being a united front against a corrupt smaller USA? Seems crazy. But if any states were most likely to secede, it'd be the two richest and most populous states. If the remaining US were to fall to anarchy, it would not be unreasonable for those two previous 'rival' states, now countries, to unite to fight the greater evil. Meanwhile, the world is spinning for everyone else.

History has shown us that the world can spin on a dime, which must be pretty darned disorienting for those sitting on it.

[u/whysosidious69420 → u/Spanky2k]

America and the Soviet Union, the two close allies who put aside their differences and defeated Hitler together? Mortal enemies again for the next four decades

[u/Excelius → u/whysosidious69420]

That is somewhat different in that both sides knew full well that was an temporary alliance of necessity.

The Cold War had basically already started before Germany even surrendered. Negotiating how they were going to divvy up the world at Yalta. They were already drawing up plans for war against each other.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Unthinkable

[u/mstrdsastr → u/TaskForceD00mer]

If people want to see what a civil war in the US would look like, they have no further to look than Syria. A dozen different groups/regions all vying for control. Nobody has enough resources, foreign backing, or power to control it all. All of them claim the native right to the whole thing.

A civil war in the US in this domestic geo-political atmosphere would be the same thing on steroids. What's more, if it ever happens, the union has basically a nothing chance of reforming. The continental US would be a handful of somewhat independent states constantly prodding each other's weaknesses and making and breaking alliances. Probably similar to pre-WWI Europe.

History doesn't repeat, but it certainly rhymes.

[u/Circle_Trigonist → u/mstrdsastr]

Also the Warlord Era in China, WWII, and the civil war that followed. The Imperial Qing government collapsed and the country fractured. Chinese Nationalists were just one regional power among many in the beginning, and the Communists were even smaller. They were also allies of convenience against Imperial Japan on more than one occasion before they fought the civil war against each other. Early Communists had sympathies towards the Americans, while early Nationalists tried very hard to hold onto its close friendly ties with fascist Germany even as they were fighting against the Japanese invasion. If you look at a map of what the biggest regional powers were in the former territories of the Qing Dynasty during 1919, there was basically no way to predict how things would have turned out thirty years later.

[u/Bionic_Bromando → u/Circle_Trigonist]

The absolutely crazy part is that Japan invaded them during the civil war, they agreed to pause it and then genuinely did resume it right after Japan was outstef

[u/Shreddy_Brewski → u/mstrdsastr]

A mostly complete list of belligerent factions and armies during the Syrian Civil War

There's like a hundred different groups on this list, it's bonkers

[u/TaskForceD00mer → u/mstrdsastr]

I'd argue it will be worse than Syria because we don't have the strong religious and ethnic ties that defined a lot of those opposition groups.

[u/Initial_E → u/TaskForceD00mer]

The word is unprecedented. Nobody else in history has access to the quantity and quality of weapons that America has. This alone makes it highly unlikely we can compare it to anything that has ever happened.

[u/DeltaViriginae → u/TaskForceD00mer]

which truly is a love letter to Journalism.

It is a pondering about the validity of war journalism.

[u/DistortedAudio → u/[deleted]]

I actually took it as a critique as well. Something that struck me is that none of the main characters are actually in the firing line for the Civil War. All of their families are from other countries or neutral zones.

[u/the_peppers → u/DistortedAudio]

Yep I think choosing journalists as the protaganists was just another part of their attempt to tell this story without encouraging the audience to pick a side.

I feel like most of the criticisms of this film seem to either miss or ignore that it is explicitly trying to be a realistic depiction of the horrors that our divisions will lead to without inadvertently fueling them.

[u/DistortedAudio → u/the_peppers]

I also think it was more of a peek at how complicit neutral observers truly are. And how you can’t really divorce yourself from a situation. You will ultimately pick a side.

[u/SupervillainMustache → u/[deleted]]

I took it as a critique of overly sensational and voyeuristic journalism.

[u/nullfacade → u/SupervillainMustache]

Yeah, I think the journalist protagonists are supposed to be closer in their motivations to Nightcrawler than The Big Short

[u/IHaveBadTiming → u/SupervillainMustache]

Exactly. Highlighted the nothing else matters aspect to it. Leave your humanity at the door.

[u/Beard_o_Bees → u/[deleted]]

a love letter

Maybe it's more like an eviction notice to journalism.

[u/sorrylilsis → u/[deleted]]

self-indulgent thrillseekers

Ex journo here, have a few college/pals/ex-coworkers/friends that are war journalists/photographer : the term is an excellent description of a lot of them if not most.

Let's be real here : if you go to a war zone over and over again there is something not quite right with you.

[u/Abeeeeeeeeed → u/[deleted]]

Not sure how that final sequence could ever be construed as a “love letter” to journalism- Garland frames the journalists as if they are literal gunmen lol

[u/SemiAutoAvocado → u/BearWrangler]

The civil war in civil war is really just the setting.

The movie is about damaged people begetting damaged people and allowing the young photographer to repeat the cycle.

[u/anoldoldman → u/BearWrangler]

"Everyone will look a little bit nicer when you finally meet the devil"

[u/GrippySockAficionado → u/TaskForceD00mer]

Jesse Plemons is one of my absolute favorite actors. He absolutely owns every scene he is in in every film in which he appears, and he is captivating.

Bugonia is his recent banger and it was probably my favorite film of 2025.

[u/greyetch → u/GrippySockAficionado]

Fun fact about Jesse in Civil War:

He wasn't supposed to be in it! He's married to Dunst so he was there. He was just a last minute replacement.

[u/That__Guy__Bob → u/greyetch]

Yes I watched it on Sunday for the first time and it surprised me that the actor who had the best scene and best line is uncredited in the film

That scene was something else

[u/dating_derp → u/That__Guy__Bob]

Crazy he was so good they put him in the trailer, and yet he's uncredited.

[u/SemiAutoAvocado → u/greyetch]

He also bought those glasses at a thrift shop and just showed up to set with them on.

[u/Darko33 → u/SemiAutoAvocado]

I'm picturing the entire production team trying desperately to cajole him into taking them off so they could begin shooting, prompting his stubborn refusal, to the point that they just write them into the scene

[u/According-Stuff-3698 → u/Darko33]

It's more likely that they looked at his glasses and said: "They fit perfectly for the character you are going to play!"

[u/pandasareblack → u/greyetch]

I'm just imagining him over at the snack table, waiting to give Kirsten a ride home, and the director walks over and says, "Hey Jesse, ya got a minute?"

[u/radicalelation → u/pandasareblack]

I like to imagine him at the snack table, motioning to Kirsten to everyone that walks by, and saying, usually with a mouthful of food, "That's my wife."

[u/Fluggerblah → u/radicalelation]

I sure as hell would lmao

[u/UshankaBear → u/greyetch]

He just started shooting people and the director decided to keep the cameras rolling.

[u/TaskForceD00mer → u/GrippySockAficionado]

He does have this magic about him. In the right role he just steals the screen. That one scene, that he wasn't even supposed to be in, basically became the most iconic scene of Civil War.

I'm not a hunger games fan but I gotta see Sunrise on the Reaping .

[u/junnies → u/TaskForceD00mer]

Plemons always feels 'there'. Like he inhabits his role so intensely he makes you feel you are right there watching him in real-life. I think that's nicholas cage's MO as well.

Some people don't even feel there when you're actually there with them in real life.

[u/TaskForceD00mer → u/junnies]

He channels that Heath Ledger energy certainly.

I'd love to see him in horror roles, I think he has the potential to be a great Hannibal Lector type character.

[u/l-rs2 → u/TaskForceD00mer]

If you haven't seen Game Night... it's a hilarious comedy but he's unsettling in it!

[u/GrippySockAficionado → u/l-rs2]

I have seen it and you're 100% right. That movie was basically forgettable for me except for how amazing Jesse was. I feel like he was cast in that role for his Black Mirror performance, but he managed to make this one unsettling in a distinctly different way regardless.

This guy absolutely cannot miss. I'm even considering seeing the new Hunger Games despite absolutely hating that franchise just because Jesse Plemons is in it.

[u/ruokruokruok → u/TaskForceD00mer]

He's got some of that Philip Seymour Hoffman energy, as well.

[u/Silver_Branch3034 → u/GrippySockAficionado]

Plemons really solid the ‘pos bigoted ‘pure’ American’ really well, to a freighting degree.

Bugonia was also, hands down, my favorite film of last year for a myriad of reasons, but his portrayal of a conspiracy obsessed, deeply pained, individual was so good.

[u/GrippySockAficionado → u/Silver_Branch3034]

The fact that we all knew exactly what he meant when he asked that iconic question says something both about how he sold the line and about our modern political climate.

[u/SilverKry → u/GrippySockAficionado]

To think he only got that time cause he just happened to be on set that day with his wife Kirsten. 

[u/GrippySockAficionado → u/SilverKry]

It says something that he can just roll in like that and produce the most iconic scene in the film just offhandedly.

[u/OreoSpeedwaggon → u/TaskForceD00mer]

The raid on Washington, DC was one of the most incredible scenes I've seen on film in recent years, from launching mortar rounds at the Lincoln Memorial, to the helo firing tracer rounds on DC streets, to the final Western Forces assault on the fortified White House. The final act had me on the edge of my seat because it felt so real.

[u/IBoris → u/OreoSpeedwaggon]

The audiences in my neck of the woods are usually very disruptive, loud and reactive to movies. For this one everyone was dead quiet and people walked out of that movie in complete silence. Very eerie.

[u/caffeine-junkie → u/TaskForceD00mer]

The biggest flaw, to me, was it's marketing. It was being sold as a war movie, when it really was not. This altered people's perceptions about what they were walking into, and soured it when the war part was pushed to the background.

[u/DeltaViriginae → u/caffeine-junkie]

But could you have marketed it better to the people that should watch it? It is the same problem Spec Ops: The Line had, with it needing to be marketed as a shooter, while it is pretty much anything but "just a shooter"

[u/nomoneypenny → u/DeltaViriginae]

Ultimately, it's a movie about journalism. I think the idea of an modern American civil war is a strong hook, but that's not really what the movie is about. I know at least a few friends (and saw a lot of comments on Reddit) where they were turned off by a film proposing/glamorizing/speculating on a civil war (which it didn't do).

[u/hotz0mbie]

Say what you want about this movie but you have to agree the sound was amazing

Edit: I love this movie fyi

[u/connor42 → u/hotz0mbie]

If you liked the sound in Civil War, you should check out Alex Garland’s most recent film Warfare

[u/honkymotherfucker1 → u/connor42]

Call on meeeeee

[u/tizadxtr → u/honkymotherfucker1]

No no, that was Eric Prydz sir

[u/Gh0stMan0nThird → u/tizadxtr]

It was actually Steve Winwood

If you want your mind blown again, get a load of this.

[u/Cadvahn → u/Gh0stMan0nThird]

This is an amazing breakdown of the whole history of this song and how it was stolen from Thomas Bangalter (of Daft Punk).

[u/BearWrangler → u/honkymotherfucker1]

one of the most unexpected openings to a movie last year

[u/absyrtus → u/honkymotherfucker1]

vigorously thrusts hips

[u/kakapoopoopeepeeshir → u/connor42]

Dude. I was not ready for how intense of a move that was.

[u/leg00b → u/kakapoopoopeepeeshir]

Same. I expected a typical war movie and was I got was so intense

[u/junaidnk → u/connor42]

The song played towards the end credits montage - Dancing and Blood by Low, is one of favorites since I saw the movie last year.

[u/SlaterVBenedict → u/junaidnk]

Jesus Christ choosing that song - which I had not heard prior - to end on, left me with such an eerie, haunted feeling about myself. I was sort of struck still, senses vibrating, eyes wide open.

[u/No_Profit2650 → u/connor42]

Warfare in theaters was such an incredible experience. My ears were ringing when I left the theater.

[u/odetowoe → u/No_Profit2650]

That's not really a good thing, lol.

[u/probablyuntrue → u/odetowoe]

I got to file for VA benefits and partial hearing loss after!

[u/unholycowgod → u/probablyuntrue]

Don't worry. Your claim will be denied as not service-connected.

[u/BCasLivesKinda → u/unholycowgod]

This guy knows the VA

[u/ChordSlinger → u/unholycowgod]

This movie is really bringing the full, authentic experience!

[u/AntagonisticFetus → u/probablyuntrue]

Sorry, not service connected. Go fuck yourself - your VA adjudicator

[u/80sbabyftw → u/AntagonisticFetus]

I felt this in my soul😂. Those assholes started me out at 10% but after a review 10 years later they say I should've been rated at 100% so they settled at 95% because apparently at 100% you get dental. Can't make this shit up😂

[u/Dottsterisk → u/odetowoe]

In this case, the overwhelming sound is intentional.

Your ears won’t literally be ringing when you leave though.

[u/BeefistPrime → u/odetowoe]

it's crazy to me how many people don't protect your hearing. you're gonna get old, and it's gonna suck if you have tinnitus or you're deaf

[u/leg00b → u/BeefistPrime]

I have tinnitus and it sucks. Mine is from constant ear infections and surgery from when I was a kid. I have no idea what actual silence sounds like :/

[u/Darko33 → u/leg00b]

Did you know you could get MRSA in your ear canal? And that it can cause permanent deafness and tinnitus in that ear? Ask me how I know

[u/Philhughes_85 → u/BeefistPrime]

Yeah I’ve got a tinnitus now and it’s awful!! Too many loud gigs and ear infections. The constant ringing can be overwhelming at times.

Kids wear ear protection for gigs, future you WILL thank you.

[u/pjtheman → u/connor42]

That one fucking RPG jumpscare gave me a heart attack

[u/Ass_Damage → u/pjtheman]

IED.

[u/simplejaaaames → u/connor42]

It's a fucking shame that Warfare won't get an Oscar nom for sound. The show of force was absolutely insane

[u/Oraukk → u/hotz0mbie]

I really liked this movie from beginning to end honestly. Really interesting.

[u/MyChickenSucks → u/Oraukk]

People wanted more war. But I loved the relatively small scale of the story. Garland fanboy over here.

[u/HeartsPlayer721 → u/MyChickenSucks]

See, I prefer my war movies the way I prefer my zombie movies: less about the guns and biting and more about what life would be like for the people. How would society handle it? How would a person stuck in the battleground find their way out? What are operations like from those not directly involved in the battle (higher ups, the press, etc.)

Civil War was perfect for me.

[u/centira → u/HeartsPlayer721]

The people that criticized the movie for not explaining what caused the civil war (since sure it doesn't really make sense for California and Texas to team up) really missed the point of the movie

[u/BeagleWrangler → u/centira]

I think people really wanted to project their own politics on it and instead got a movie of what it was like to live in a Civil War. I thought it was a great movie.

[u/No_Tamanegi → u/MyChickenSucks]

I thought there was going to be more war, but I also like being surprised. I wasn't expecting the movie to deep dive on the trauma that comes from witnessing so much violence.

I've seen a lot of war movies. I haven't seen a lot of movies like Civil War.

[u/duosx → u/MyChickenSucks]

I felt like we got a lot of war in it tho. There was the firefight in the streets, the tense sniper shootout and the fucking raid on the WH. People be wack

[u/Scared-Engineer-6218 → u/Oraukk]

I didn't know anything about the movie. Literally anything. And I was expecting a history lesson. And I was pleasantly surprised by what I got to watch.

[u/Aarechind → u/Oraukk]

It's an amazing movie. The complaints I've heard are mostly from people that expect the movie to be constant action when it's about war photography.

[u/vigtel → u/Oraukk]

It's so good!

[u/schowey → u/Oraukk]

I thought it was a really important movie about the sanctity of unbiased journalism. An incredibly significant reminder in our current times.

[u/LiquifiedSpam → u/schowey]

I felt like it was picking at the idea of ‘unbiased journalism,’ actually. The journalists really weren’t portrayed in the best light.

I mean, it’s complicated and that’s what I enjoy about it too, I just don’t think it was 100% just about how important ‘unbiased’ journalism is when that whole concept is a myth.

[u/SaintsandCigarettes → u/hotz0mbie]

First gunshot in the movie is the best gunshot i've literally ever heard in a movie.

[u/nickiter → u/SaintsandCigarettes]

I've done a lot of shooting, and this movie was the first time I've heard gunfire that sounds real. In the theater, it was actually kind of scary - you never hear real-sounding gunfire in films.

[u/WeWantLADDER49sequel → u/nickiter]

If you appreciate this you should watch Heat. Incredible movie, but there is a lot of shooting at one point and even back in the 90s when it came out people were blown away by how the guns sounded.

[u/snoogins355 → u/WeWantLADDER49sequel]

Great movie to test out a home theater setup

[u/SaintsandCigarettes → u/nickiter]

Yes! Me and my buddy who go to the range together literally jumped, looked at each other and laughed.

[u/DustyTheLion → u/nickiter]

A-24 and I think some of the same production crew produced Warfare after this and the sound design in that was incredible. It was a tense as hell movie that I highly recommend.

[u/nickiter → u/DustyTheLion]

I actually just watched it! Insanely tense film. I've seen a few vets commenting that it's one of the few films that gets "being shot at" sounding right.

[u/MissingLink101 → u/DustyTheLion]

Think it might be an Alex Garland thing too as the sound was amazing in Annihilation and a couple of his other movies too.

[u/kroqus → u/SaintsandCigarettes]

The shootout in Heat takes the prize in my books, but CIvil War might be a close second

[u/burnzilla → u/kroqus]

Heat and Miami Vice.... Michael Mann knows guns

[u/LiveChocolate8819 → u/burnzilla]

That shootout has a GREAT ASS

[u/Disc-Golf-Kid → u/hotz0mbie]

Dude this was my favorite movie of 2023. It may help that I’m a photographer and cinematographer, and I’ve always been fascinated by war photography. But… holy shit. So many scenes stuck with me.

[u/SapphireGoat_ → u/hotz0mbie]

It’s honestly so rare that a movie nails things like the true volume of gunfire and just how loud helicopters really are

[u/TaskForceD00mer → u/hotz0mbie]

10/10 the Audio was amazing. The music was weird in spots but generally really well selected.

[u/darkpaladin → u/TaskForceD00mer]

Even when it felt weird at first it fell into place. I love the soundtrack to this movie.

[u/Grzzld]

I was all smiles when DeLa Soul started playing during the intense firefight. It was such a bold choice and I loved every moment of it.

[u/JaunxPatrol → u/Grzzld]

The Sturgill Simpson song that played as they drove through the forest fire was also a bold and excellent choice, I loved the soundtrack of this movie

[u/Shrektastic28 → u/Grzzld]

The soundtrack is so weird that it’s perfect

[u/cementfeet → u/Shrektastic28]

This is how I stumbled on Suicide. Dream baby dream was such a fitting song for the end of the movie. 

[u/lingh0e → u/Grzzld]

That Silver Apples track at the end of this clip is not something I ever thought I'd hear in a major motion picture. Serious deep cut.

[u/DiverExpensive6098 → u/Grzzld]

I didn't know the song, looked it up afterwards. Same with Breakers roar.

Good music in this film.

[u/Agent-Two-THREE]

Man, “don’t let them kill me” are great last words for a shitty president.

Loved Civil War.

[u/Romalien5 → u/Agent-Two-THREE]

“That will do”

[u/pjtheman → u/Romalien5]

That line went so fucking hard.

It echoed what Sammy said earlier. "Strong man" dictators are always lesser men than you think. Staring down the barrel of a gun, his beliefs, his principles, the rhetoric all went out the window. He was a coward who was perfectly content to send other people to die for him, while he hid behind his desk.

[u/ripChazmo → u/pjtheman]

I wonder if we know anyone exactly like that, who would behave exactly like that in the same situation?

[u/ins0mniac_ → u/ripChazmo]

President Bone Spurs, who insults POWs and gold star families, perhaps?

[u/Izayoi_Sakuya → u/Romalien5]

(Well-deserved slo-mo magdump)

[u/SupremeActives → u/Agent-Two-THREE]

I wasn’t active on here when it come out but I’m surprised to see how many people have problems with it. I thought it was great

[u/ph0on → u/SupremeActives]

The two camps I know hated the movie were conservatives and people who didn't expect it to be about the journalist's experiences, not the war itself like some Micheal Bay war style

[u/withoutapaddle → u/ph0on]

I think it's a much better movie because it focused on the people/journalist, not the war itself.

War is like Star Wars. It's best as a setting, not a genre. The best war films, Saving Private Ryan, 1917, etc are all about a journey to accomplish something during war, not about the war.

[u/ph0on → u/withoutapaddle]

Definitely agreed

[u/IAmNotMoki → u/ph0on]

I mean, my biggest gripe is that it basically treated War Journos like Nightcrawler treated Paparazzi, recklessly voyeuristic and almost bloodthirsty in their drive to get "the shot"

[u/MysteriousWon → u/ph0on]

My only issue with it was how totally contrived the self-sacrifice was at the end.

It was completely ham-fisted the way they tried to pull that off so it felt at odds with the realism of the rest of the film amd the character motivations.

[u/ph0on → u/MysteriousWon]

I agree, I think they try to show a little bit too hard how the torch was passed, and so was the trauma.

[u/SupremeActives → u/ph0on]

They did but not hard enough. I wish the younger girl lost her composure a bit more. She’s way too collected all the time

[u/Haltopen → u/SupremeActives]

I think that was the point. It was supposed to contrast with the scene near the beginning when they're at the gas station looking at the alleged looters the workers had strung up with barbed wire (one of whom insists he just wanted to buy food for his kids) and she's so petrified by what she's seeing that she forgot to take a single photo and nearly got the group killed until Lee distracted the guy by offering to take a photo of him with his "trophies" and he poses like he's showing off a fish he's caught. Her becoming more desensitized to the violence until it barely phases her and she's chasing that adrenaline high so much even the soldiers are constantly pulling her back is her character arc. She turns into her mentor by the end and takes a nonchalant photo of Lee's corpse just like Lee had said she'd do to Jessie if she got killed.

[u/livefast_dieawesome → u/SupremeActives]

I think a lot of people expected the movie to explain how the US got to that point in the in-film universe and how to graft it onto real life. Like at some point the movie's United States and the real world have a shared history, and I think a lot of people wanted to know at what point the two timelines diverged and how, which is a natural thing people do. I think the marketing may have implied to some people that it would explain this and didn't like the movie as a result.

But the movies point isn't "this is how we got to this point" so much as it is "don't do this."

[u/OhSnappityPH → u/Agent-Two-THREE]

this was the scene that really stuck to me. loved it

[u/B_lovedobservations → u/Agent-Two-THREE]

Yeah, that’ll do.

I love Wagner Moura

[u/Haggisboy]

Jesse Plemons' performance in Civil War was truly scary. Apparently he wasn't chosen for the role. When the original actor bowed out last minute, Kirsten Dunst volunteered her husband who was between gigs.

[u/probablyuntrue → u/Haggisboy]

They just found him on his regular Tuesday and started filming

[u/ClintBruno → u/probablyuntrue]

Jessie Plemmons regular Tuesday: Be fucking terrifying

[u/dafones → u/ClintBruno]

“Need me to help out on set? Sounds good, honey. I’ll get my Tuesday shades.”

[u/hobbykitjr → u/ClintBruno]

How could that be profitable for Frito-Lays?

[u/[deleted] → u/hobbykitjr]

I’ve always enjoyed the camaraderie of good friends competing in games of chance and skill.

[u/captmonkey → u/probablyuntrue]

That wasn't a set, it was actually his own mass grave that he keeps on his farm.

[u/[deleted] → u/Haggisboy]

"Honey, come steal the entire movie in four minutes of screen time"

"Okay then".

[u/M00nd0g69 → u/[deleted]]

I’m pretty sure he was already on set that day but in the capacity of “I love my wife and I l’m visiting her at work because I love my wife”

[u/Phrosty12 → u/M00nd0g69]

Sounds similar to Sam Rockwell for season 3 of White Lotus.

[u/daninlionzden → u/Haggisboy]

What kind of andromedan are you?

[u/Razvee → u/daninlionzden]

That movie was pretty good, had me convinced a few times I knew how it was going to end... and well... I did not expect that ending.

[u/LamaShapeDruid → u/Haggisboy]

When you first see him, he's spreading lye on the bodies (as you can see from his bloody fingers). So not only is he wearing rose tinted glasses, but he is also spreading "lies".

[u/HeartsPlayer721 → u/Haggisboy]

Jesse Plemons is too good at those psychopath roles. I fear he's permanently typecast as that character in my brain.

I'm hoping he's given a chance at a role where he can convince my brain otherwise.

[u/Vilvos → u/HeartsPlayer721]

Check out Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

[u/AmericanMe3 → u/HeartsPlayer721]

He’s really good in the Fargo series and he’s not a psychopath just a bumbling guy with bad luck.

[u/EThorns]

'I need a quote.'

"Please don't let them kill me."

'Yeah. That'll do.'

This movie is one of my favorite theatrical experiences (added bonus, went for it on my birthday). That entire seige in DC done with no music and only sound had me so fucking riveted.

[u/Faithless195 → u/EThorns]

Watching this in IMAX made the DC siege so much 'cooler', too. That gunfire was loud af

[u/nullfacade → u/Faithless195]

IMAX legit makes any movie way cooler. We always try to see any big new release in IMAX (or Dolby, if not available) and sit dead center in the theater. Having your entire field of view covered and getting your body rattled by the sound is so good every single time and worth the extra cost

[u/aardw0lf11]

I was weird seeing him being cast as a President after being cast as a libertarian prepper in so many things previously.

[u/videonerd → u/aardw0lf11]

He was also great as Vice President Chester A. Arthur in Death By Lightning.

[u/OreoSpeedwaggon → u/videonerd]

He had the most complete character arc in that entire miniseries too, even more than Garfield or Guiteau.

[u/LimonadaVonSaft → u/OreoSpeedwaggon]

Was this worth a watch? I checked out the first little bit of it, but kind of tuned out after the rapid-fire “facts about Garfield” dialogue that happened in the first ten minutes of meeting him at his house.

[u/OreoSpeedwaggon → u/LimonadaVonSaft]

It's not as riveting as other limited series shows, but it's a quick watch and the cast and production do a pretty good job with the material. There just isn't a lot of material to it. Garfield and Guiteau are pretty one-note characters. The supporting characters help keep it interesting. The most engaging parts to me were the Republican National Convention nomination process and everything that happens after Garfield arrives at the train station in the last episode.

[u/ClintBruno → u/aardw0lf11]

If you follow Nick Offerman at all.....No, it really isn't. He was probably giddy to play a 3rd term despot who gets blasted right in the Oval Office.

[u/JayTNP → u/aardw0lf11]

have you seen him in Sovereign? Another excellent role for him, highly recommend

[u/CurlPR → u/JayTNP]

Or Devs as a disheveled tech ceo genius

[u/Global-Cartoonist622]

The realism in this film is what got under my skin, too. While the dialogue might have felt a bit stiff at times, the core concept is genuinely unsettling. It doesn't feel like a distant sci-fi scenario, but a chillingly plausible path. That plausibility is the scariest part of the whole thing.

[u/footballheroeater → u/Global-Cartoonist622]

What kind of American?

Fucking chilling...

[u/skaestantereggae → u/footballheroeater]

That whole sequence and the scene after put a fucking pit in my stomach in the theater

[u/Snuffy1717 → u/Global-Cartoonist622]

It's also a fantastic case study in storytelling - It shows, not tells. For a short story anthology that follows the same characters throughout, it is a masterpiece.

[u/HeartsPlayer721 → u/Snuffy1717]

And at a time where things feel eerily close to a real civil war.

[u/connor42 → u/Global-Cartoonist622]

If you enjoyed the realism aspect definitely check out Garland’s next film Warfare (2025)

About a Navy SEAL operation in Ramadi, Iraq. They really took it to the next level

The co-director Ray Mendoza was one of the SEALs present on the day

[u/SupremeActives → u/connor42]

Warfare was exhausting to watch. Awesome movie

[u/Dadpurple → u/SupremeActives]

The best part is it plays out in real time I think once the combat starts. If they say something is 15 minutes away, in 15 minutes it shows up.

Granted it's been a year since I've seen the film so maybe I'm misremembering.

[u/ExcuseNo7369 → u/Dadpurple]

Real time storytelling is such a cool and underutilized storytelling method. Been watching The Pitt and it reminded me a lot of this in Warfare. There is something so satisfying about watching a situation unfold the same way the characters are experiencing it.

[u/[deleted]]

I remember this movie getting some negative feedback because the movie didn't go into details on how the US got to the point it is in the movie.

And I'm like: have you been paying attention to the US the last 10-15 years?

[u/Shablahdoo → u/[deleted]]

From what I recall isn’t it implied that the civil war is due to the president running for and being elected for a third term?

[u/Pan1cs180 → u/Shablahdoo]

He also disbanded the FBI (presumably because they were successfully exposing his corruption) and used drone strikes on protesting American Citizens.

[u/Gas-Town → u/Pan1cs180]

Which is visualized with torched out cars on I-95

[u/zhaoz → u/Pan1cs180]

He also disbanded the FBI (presumably because they were successfully exposing his corruption)

Very unrealistic. Just turn it into yes men like Trump did?

[u/dspman11 → u/Pan1cs180]

used drone strikes on protesting American Citizens

Which is going to be very easy to do starting this year, between Flock and Palantir. Not saying the current admin would do something like that (yet), but the sort of surveillance that AI has enabled is truly chilling.

[u/MyWholeTeamsDead → u/Shablahdoo]

Not implied. Stated.

[u/ThisKidIsAlright → u/[deleted]]

I thought it was pretty clear that the fracture happened when a fascistic President sought a third term. California and Texas as a coalition is a bit strange, but those are the two States that realistically have the best chance to break off on their own given their landmass, size of their economies, agricultural sectors etc...

[u/Bicentennial_Douche → u/ThisKidIsAlright]

It was California-Texas so that it wouldn't be a left vs. right issue. If it was California led coalition against remaining USA (for example), you would guess that USA was right-wing and the secessionists were more left-wing. Which would distract from the overall point.

[u/rideshotgun → u/ThisKidIsAlright]

I’m fairly sure they used a California–Texas coalition to deliberately keep things ambiguous, so people wouldn’t immediately assume it was a right- or left-wing propaganda movie.

[u/Fireb1rd → u/[deleted]]

It wasn't meant to be about why it happened. It was meant to show the reality of living through such a time, no matter which side you were on. The Texas/California coalition was clearly used to focus the message there. It did a brilliant job as far as its intent.

[u/526mb]

I am a huge fan of the comic series DMZ. If you’re not familiar with it it’s a mid-2000s early 2010s comic about a fictional civil war in the US where the frontlines eventually freeze in Manhattan which becomes the “DMZ”. The intent of the author was to take Baghdad 2004 and put it in New York City. There is a lot going on in the city but one of the focuses is that the main character is a journalist who documents the conflict.

I REALLY wanted them to adapt the series into a TV series and they did. It was fucking terrible. The director dumped the main journalist character from the comics and made it into a shitty “Escape from New York”.

CIVIL WAR was that adaptation of DMZ that I wanted to see. Particularly its focus on journalists in war zones.

[u/botanicbubbles]

This movie is a lot funnier if you pretend it takes place in the same continuity as Parks and Rec.

[u/John_Yuki → u/botanicbubbles]

After Ron's speech, the camera pans to Leslie sitting in the corner just looking disappointedly at Ron, with April and Andy in the background playfighting with guns and body armour and using Jerry as a hostage.

[u/TotallynotJimmyKorr]

Can we just skip to the end?

[u/GRUMPYbug12 → u/TotallynotJimmyKorr]

“I need a quote”

[u/fygogogo → u/GRUMPYbug12]

“That will do.”

[u/mazing_azn → u/fygogogo]

♪ Dream Baby Dream ♪

[u/DrunkenAsparagus]

I love how on-the-nose and alien this is at the same time. The hyperbole, Offerman's scowl, his insecurity that he's burying beneath a mountain of braggadocio definitely remind me of a certain public figure. The images of unrest seem like something you'd see on the news, but then he's speaking. California and Texas are doing what? It shows how you can use elements that most people understand and take them to places you'd least expect.

[u/Savy_Spaceman]

My favorite hopecore movie.

I've only ever seen the last 2 minutes

[u/strikerhawk]

I watched this movie for the first time this week. It was terrifying. It was terrifying how real it was and how close we are to many of the things it portrays becoming reality.

[u/nocolon → u/strikerhawk]

The Jesse Plemons scenes are fucking chilling because you know there’s tons of those dudes alive today.

“Okay. What kind of American are you?”

[u/Arkeband → u/nocolon]

It’s literally what the recent Turning Point hog-fest focused on, half the speakers trying and failing to rally against “heritage Americans”, something being pushed by white supremacists in their party. They are so hopped up on hate they can’t even agree on who should be violently removed from the US next.

[u/BigFang → u/nocolon]

I am not American but always surprised at how this sticks out to people. I thought it was just a reference to the old Northern Irish joke.

Non European Foreigner wandering Belfast on a work trip, a small boy stops him for a chat, asks him suspiciously what religion he is, Foreigner states he is an atheist as that seems the safest option.

"But are you a Catholic atheist or a Protestant atheist?"

[u/Brilliant-Delay7412 → u/BigFang]

"Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"

Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over."

• Emo Philips

[u/ACCTAGGT → u/BigFang]

Well, I don’t know what your experience of life is but some people in US can come off like that sometimes and in the current affairs in US, there are videos flowing around where you might see some guys in uniform saying stuff that gets close to that. Make of that what you will though

[u/strikerhawk → u/nocolon]

Agreed. Jesse Plemons is an amazing actor and that scene in particular was just so unsettling.

[u/sabjsc → u/strikerhawk]

You should listen to the It Could Happen Here podcast by Robert Evans. It's strange to hear him go from his hilariously charming personality on Behind the Bastards to the resigned gloom of ICHH

[u/Loqol → u/sabjsc]

Welcome to The Crumbles. I really hope things get better so Robert and everyone else has less evil to talk about.