Alex Garland's Civil War is being described as very similar to Children of Men, but the Ex Machina helmer's potential final outing as a director has an all-too-real backdrop for it's setting.
The near-future dystopian action movie takes place in America after the country has entered into the Second American Civil War.
Nick Offerman portrays a fascist ruler who has taken power for a third term and destroyed democratic institutions.
The nation is in the throes of war, with conflict erupting everywhere, and reporter Kristen Dunst is trying to risk her life to go across the country in order to interview the President about perhaps preventing war.
The film hits North American theaters this Friday, so should you spend your hard-earned dollars for a cinema ticket? Here's what the critics have to say.
The Guardian writes, 'It’s a strange, violent dream of disorder, drained of ideological meaning," while giving the film a 3 out of 5 score.
Richard Roeper of The Chicago Sun-Times writes, "With horrific wars raging in other parts of the world, and with politically charged violence part of the fabric of this country, “Civil War” will hit home no matter where you live." He rated the film 4 out of 5 stars.
Dana Stevens of Slate adds, "Civil War often leaves the audience feeling trapped in an all-too-realistic waking nightmare, but when it finally lets us go, mercifully short of the two-hour mark, it sends us out of the theater talking."
Robbie Collin of the UK's Daily Telegraph provided a foreign perspective, writing, "Civil War moves in ways you’d forgotten films of this scale could – with compassion for its lead characters and a dark, prowling intellect, and yet a simultaneous total commitment to thrilling the audience at every single moment." He rated the film 5 out of 5.
In their review, The Atlantic wrote, "Though Civil War is told with blockbuster oomph, it often feels as frustratingly elliptical as a much smaller movie. Even so, I left the theater quite exhilarated."
The film currently has a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 85 reviews, with an average score of 7.8 out of 10.
As you can see, most reviewers are very high on Garland's potential swan song as a director. Are these reviews enough to sway you to see the film during its opening weekend? Let us know in the comment section below.
ABOUT CIVIL WAR: From filmmaker Alex Garland comes a journey across a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.