Civil War Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Civil War Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 3, 2024

A Prussian general named Carl von Clausewitz is sometimes cited as having provided a common euphemism about the chaos and confusion that probably unavoidably attends large scale battle, a phrase that later became the title of a fascinating documentary about sixties era Department of Defense head honcho Robert McNamara, The Fog of War. In that same vein and/or miasma, could there perhaps therefore be a concomitant "fog of war movie?" situation, something that might be part and parcel of, say, "meta" peeks at filmmaking and its trials and tribulations in such pieces as Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, but which may have a more "inherent" meaning in the viscerally disturbing film under discussion here. If you went to, say, a football game and the teams weren't identified and not wearing uniforms, how would you react? Would you just arbitrarily select one group to root for, or would you hold back and just become an observer? Something at least a little similar is at play in Civil War, since writer and director Alex Garland himself admits in the long form making of supplement on this disc to being intentionally vague about certain aspects of the conflict at the core of the story, something he says in a supplement he did deliberately to keep viewers from "choosing sides". That may seem like a veritable fool's errand given some of the depictions in the film, which offer an apparently authoritarian President under siege during his third term as well as secessionist states and a variety of militias that go around executing the "wrong" kind of Americans.

A brief opening vignette documents the President (Nick Offerman) getting ready to make an obviously "optimistic" speech detailing recent supposed successes against secessionist forces. That perceived thesis then is instantly negated by an antithetical interstitial depiction of a huge riot being covered by photojournalist Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst), who ends up helping a fledgling photographer named Jessie Cullen (Cailee Spaeny) through the maelstrom, especially after a suicide bomber detonates herself. Lee is partnered with Joel (Wagner Moura), and later that evening the two have a debrief with a veteran journalist from The New York Times named Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), and the three more or less agree to drive together from New York to Washington D.C. in order to get an interview with the besieged head of state. Suffice it to say it's no big surprise (in just one of several predictable elements in Garland's screenplay) when Jessie turns up in the car the next morning, having convinced Joel to let her tag along.

The rest of the story then turns into a harrowing road trip (evidently the "fake name" the production used on location so as to not raise concerns about its actual title), as the quartet attempts to get to the nation's capitol, which is itself a major battle locale. If the underlying story here is frighteningly prescient (maybe not even prescient, simply aware), it's also a bit muddled, though the fractious nature of American "sects" is more than capably demonstrated in any number of horrifying gunfights. The press sheet accompanying this disc mentions the photojournalists have to get to D.C. "before it's too late", and the back cover asserts that they need to "race against time to reach D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House." Those statements may be accurate in a way, though they may seem to hint at some kind of "loyalist" sensibilities from the quartet toward D.C. and the President that is definitely not part of the equation, which may be evidence that even the marketing for this film isn't sure which side various people, let alone the audience, may be on.

But it soon becomes obvious that if Garland is trying to maybe do an "end run" around people choosing sides by keeping details about the uprising unclear, the real through line here is actually about Jessie becoming a "battle hardened" journalist herself. And it's here that Garland's material can be downright annoying at times, to the point that some jaded viewers will probably be siding with perceived "terrorists" threatening Jessie on more than one occasion, perhaps whispering under their breath, "Yeah, take her out, she's a pathetic whiner." There's ultimately almost an unintentionally comic aspect to Jessie getting desensitized in one bloody scene, only to get resensitized in the next. Jessie's probably unsurprising "arc" seesaws with a completely unexplained and seemingly uncharacteristic breakdown suffered by Lee late in the story.

The film does much better in some of its relatively "smaller" moments, like one of the most unsettling vignettes which, predictably, finds Jessie once more in danger of being executed. A nasty militia type starts quizzing the other journalists (including two more who have joined the fray) about "what kind of American" they are, something that's quite pointed given the obvious ethnicity (as opposed to nationality) of at least three of them. It's in moments like these that the "sides" are pretty clear, and the film's emotional impact is immeasurably aided as a result. Counterweighing some of these effective bits are more problematic decisions, including Garland virtually telegraphing the fate of Lee early on in a discussion she has with Jessie about whether she'd photograph Jessie being shot in battle.

Civil War Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Civil War is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of A24 and Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. Captured with a variety of cameras (some with source capture resolutions of up to 8K), and finished with a 4K DI, this is an extremely well detailed presentation, which actually will probably evoke some squeamishness in some viewers courtesy of more than one graphic shooting and/or other injuries depicted. In that regard, the 4K UHD version offers even more disturbing detail of various immolations, so for some, this 1080 version may be preferable for that reason if for no other. This 1080 version offers typically excellent fine detail on everything from Dunst's gracefully aging face wrinkles to fabrics on outfits. The film's visual style is kind of peculiarly lyrical a lot of the time, and some moments, like a cool focus pulling during a sniper scenario where Dunst suddenly looks at some bluebell flowers she's lying next to, or a later scene with the quartet driving through a wildfire with embers madly floating about, offer some sumptuous suffusion in what is already a generally vivid palette. This 1080 version can suffer from just very slight hints of banding in some scenes where lighting values suddenly change, and there's arguably a bit less shadow detail in the chaotic final half hour in D.C. in this version when stacked up against its 4K UHD counterpart.

Civil War Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Add a new "reference quality" title for those with Dolby Atmos setups. Wow, is all I can say to sum up this listening experience, but I'll specify a bit more by mentioning I'm not sure whether it's a "new, improved" part of A24's logo or perhaps the DNA masthead, or simply a sound design conceit, but this effort starts with penetrating blasts of white noise ping ponging between all the surround channels, so that it in fact kind of acts as a "calibration tool" to make sure you have everything properly engaged. That kind of almost whimsical opening is soon supplanted by an almost deafening LFE rumble, and all of this is within just the first few seconds of the film starting. Surround activity is consistent and often thrillingly immersive, though those thrills come with repeated shocks as blasts of gunfire can emanate from different directions. The last half hour or so of this film is one of the most impressive onslaughts in an Atmos track I've personally experienced, with near constant engagement of the Atmos speakers combined with regular side and rear channelization and some truly awesome LFE. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Civil War Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Torn Asunder: Waging Alex Garland's Civil War (HD; 56:58) is an interesting six part making of documentary that offers a number of good interviews and a wealth of behind the scenes footage.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:24)

Lionsgate sent its 4K UHD release for purposes of this 1080 review, but it looks like this standalone 1080 release offers DVD and digital copies, with packaging that features a slipcover.

Civil War Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vis a vis the redolently titled documentary mentioned in the opening paragraph above, long before most people even knew the process by which a cabinet secretary could be removed from office, my late father, who was himself a Major General in the Army and a diehard patriot, had a bumper sticker on his car saying Impeach McNamara, which may indicate that discontent with leaders extends even to very proud Americans (of any "kind"). In that regard, I might add that my Dad was also an immigrant, albeit from England, which might have exempted him from the xenophobia displayed by the militia member mentioned above. Civil War at its core may arguably not be about the war being depicted, though the calamitous situation shown is disturbing beyond belief at times, maybe if only because we seem so close to it in whatever we're currently calling "real life". And aside from a lack of clarity of why various people are blowing each other to bits, it's actually the kind of surprisingly rote tale of a naive newcomer earning her stripes where this film never completely delivers. Still, Dunst's performance in particular is outstanding, and even if it's not the actual center of the film, the depiction of a fractured (formerly) United States is incredibly unsettling. Technical merits are first rate and the multi part making of supplement very interesting. Recommended.