Civil War Review: Where's The Divide?

Most Americans are in agreement on almost every major issue. Alex Garland creates an intense odyssey through an American landscape fractured by a civil war. But in failing to address any real life issues our country is facing... it feels more like an alternate universe.
Was this review too harsh?
@apocalypsetedium

[@user-ki3yn6ef7e]

IMO not calling names is one of the main ideas of the movie. It is trying to show, how easily can two groups of people with hardly any differences or reasons start a bloody civil war, how horrific the consequences are. It is basically warning against possible outcome of artificial divide of the american people. Naming the sides of conflict would only make ground for politicized viewers to point fingers at each other - which they do anyway, calling the movie right wing or left wing propaganda, basically trying to PICK A SIDE in the civil war, which only proves the movies message right.

[@apocalypsetedium]

Thank you for the comment! I agree, not naming names was a main idea of the movie. I think people (or media pundits) will politicize it anyway. Everything is politicized in the US. The pandemic didn't bring Americans together, it was politicized and used to drive wedges between people. From a movie-going perspective, I just wished he filmmakers embraced the opportunity to create a more compelling narrative. They don't have to literally "name" real-life parties or groups. This is where the creative license comes into play. It's hard to do. Writing is hard. Writing well is even harder still. But to not provide anything felt like a cop-out to me.

[@stealthhunter9974]

tHis mOviE iS aBoUt wAr jOurNaliSt nOt tHe cUrReNt pOlItiCaL sItUaTiOn

[@apocalypsetedium]

Thank you for the comment! I agree, there's war journalists in the movie. But the film doesn't examine the vocation to the depths that predecessors like "The Killing Fields" or The Year of Living Dangerously," do. And those films also provide compelling dramatic themes that challenge the audience. In my opinion, with the current state of America, to do a film about a hypothetical civil war, and not provide challenging material, was a cop out.

[@pitchforkparty]

So true. Americans are not divided. They just don't have representation.

[@apocalypsetedium]

Yes. Agreed.