Amazon's 'Civil War' 4K combo pack
Civil War
July 12, 2024
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW:
Lionsgate;
Drama;
Box Office $68.60 million;
$39.99 Blu-ray, $42.99 UHD BD;
Rated ‘R’ for strong violent content, bloody/disturbing images, and language throughout.
Stars Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman, Jesse Plemons.
While it shines with the patina of political satire, director Alex Garland’s Civil War is really more of a drama about the impact of war on the journalists who cover it.
Based on how the film was marketed, the premise seems based on projecting current political trends into a future in which the United States is so fractured politically that various factions are at war with each other. Yet the film avoids being specifically political about what ideologies the factions represent. The general thrust of the story is that the military forces of an alliance between California and Texas are marching toward Washington, D.C., with the aim of removing from power a three-term authoritarian president (Nick Offerman).
At the center of the fray are a veteran war photographer (Kirsten Dunst) and her journalist pal (Wagner Moura) who hope to make it to D.C. to interview the president before he is deposed. Tagging along are their mentor (Stephen McKinley Henderson) looking for one last big story to cover, and a newcomer (Cailee Spaeny) who wants to become a photojournalist.
Thus, the film takes on the air of a road trip movie against the backdrop of a war film where the setting just so happens to be a dystopian United States. Along the way, the group encounters a few combat zones, the aftermath of some major engagements, a refugee camp, and a town trying its best to ignore that there’s even a war raging around them.
The performances are good and the combat scenes are effective, particularly the final assault on Washington. However, by shying away from any actual political commentary, aside from some vague implications, the film loses some of its teeth. On the other hand, keeping ideologies out of the storytelling does put more emphasis on the inhumanity of war in general.
The Civil War Blu-ray includes the comprehensive six-part behind-the-scenes documentary “Torn Asunder: Waging Alex Garland’s Civil War,” which runs about 56 minutes.
Amazon’s exclusive 4K Ultra HD edition of the film includes a bonus Blu-ray disc with an exclusive SXSW Q&A with Garland, Dunst, Spaeny and Moura that runs about 20 minutes. The Amazon edition also includes a slipcover with special lenticular box art. Since it’s from Amazon, however, good luck getting them to ship it without the case getting banged up in some way.