I really wanted “Civil War” to be a great movie. Alex Garland has delivered several fantastic, deep, and beautifully-photographed movies in the 21st century. From “Ex Machina” to “Annihilation,” Garland showed that substance and style can exist together. Garland’s movies reward multiple viewings.
And let’s not forget to credit Garland for co-writing the genre-changing, star-making “28 Days Later.”
I was beyond excited to see Garland’s newest effort. I couldn’t make the 40-minute drive to see it on IMAX, but my small-town movie house has a great sound system and a comfortable ambience, with, of course, overpriced popcorn.
The movie runs 1 hour and 49 minutes. The pacing is decent and there is the heightened awareness of impending doom, but except in a very few scenes, that feeling does not pay off.
I do not fault the actors — across the board, the acting is top-notch. The cinematography is brilliant, special effects good. The dialogue is layered with meaning. One line, uttered by a secondary menacing character, is the title, topic and moral of the movie: “What *kind* of an American are you?”
The script is not even meh. It’s oof. It’s so generic that it does not even reflect the viewer’s own biases and viewpoints. It’s as hollow as a chocolate Easter bunny.
The movie misses a generational chance to stand for something, to provide commentary in tense times. It gets so close to reaching that goal, but it goes soft. The movie just ends. The tension goes out. And there’s nothing to take away.
Nothing.
Howling Yeti 
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