Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (2025)

Civil War

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (1)

By Tyler Geis

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Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (2)

The trailer for Alex Garland's new film, Civil War, has been released to the world. America looks to be on the brink of destroying itself, judging by the footage seen in it. After sitting through the two-minute, 24-second trailer, you can't help but think, doesn't all of that seem pretty similar? The film presents itself as a little bit of a blockbuster of sorts. But we know Garland as a filmmaker all too well at this point. His movies can be big in concept but always have a message that jolts us at our chore, and Civil War, by the looks of it, most likely has the ability to do just that.

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (3)

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Civil War

R

Release Date
April 12, 2024
Director
Alex Garland
Cast
Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nelson Lee, Nick Offerman, Jefferson White, Evan Lai, Vince Pisani, Justin James Boykin, Jess Matney, Greg Hill, Edmund Donovan, Sonoya Mizuno, Tim James, Simeon Freeman, James Yaegashi, Dean Grimes, Alexa Mansour, Martha B. Knighton, Melissa Saint-Amand, Karl Glusman, Jin Ha
Main Genre
Thriller

Outside the apocalyptic-feeling trailer that shows the land of the free imploding, it seems, there are little nods that feel highly contemporary that it almost feels like a spoof when you think about it. A radio sound bite mentions the Florida alliance, and the footage of people taking it to the streets can be compared to 2020 America, and Jesse Plemons. Plemons' character saying the line, "What kind of American are you?" feels chilling. The plot details are very absent in the trailer, but the tone of it feels all too real, and here's why.

Related: The Best Films of 2020: How We Watched Movies Changed, But Artistic Brilliance Wasn't Defeated

We're Still Heavily Divided

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (4)

It's no secret; we're a country that just got into a big fight with one another. Either on the internet or out on the streets, some of us are still not ready to play nice with others who have opposing views than we do. From the looks of it, Civil War will take a lot of the themes and imagery we saw in 2020 and plan to give us some flashbacks. Protests, riots, police brutality, and militias practicing their Second Amendment all seem to be on display in the trailer. No film is more rough to sit through when it puts a mirror on society, and you feel disappointed in yourself. It is very clear, judging from the tone of Civil War's trailer, that it may try to do just that.

We Still May Actually Be in a Civil War

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (5)

Again, it feels all too real. You can go down an internet wormhole of conspiracy theories or even credible news sources, and some have touched on the idea that America has been at war with itself. Not since the late 1960s has this country been in such social disarray. A lot of the problems we face as Americans are problems that should be addressed so that we can make a better society for the generations that are coming up behind us. But no, sorry, we failed again. In terms of the film being discussed here, the trailer for Civil War does have a slight bit of information in terms of plot.

It mentions something about a group of people trying to infiltrate an area of Washington, D.C. Who are those groups of people? We don't know, but by the looks of it, the people trying to stop them seem to be Americans. We've become a culture that gets in the way of itself these last few years, and it seems like Civil War is going to touch on that.

Alex Garland Is British

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (6)

Civil War will take place in this great land of ours. But it is a project helmed by a director from overseas. Alex Garland was born in London. That tells you all you need to know about his upcoming film; it's not going to feel like an American made it. Let's face it, other countries are taking a good, hard look at us from across the pond, and now there's a big movie coming out with an outsider's perspective on it.

If you aren't keen on going into films like this with an open mind, there is a pretty good chance the idea of a British filmmaker making a movie like this may trigger you. Garland doesn't seem to have strong opinions on America that we know of, but he definitely may weave some hot takes into the film.

Related: Best British Movies of the 2010s, Ranked

Big Concept, Bigger Message

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (7)

Garland's filmography includes Ex-Machina, Annihilation, and Men. All of which have very big concepts, but don't load them up with big-budget stunts and visual effects. The core message always makes its way to the surface in his films. The trailer alone presents itself like a big-budget disaster movie, but in the end, we know what's really going on here. Civil War is definitely going to have a deep-rooted message about our current times and America's place in the world around it. Like the tagline states, "All Empires Fall."

Come April 26th, we will know more, but for now, the trailer is chilling enough as is. Could Civil War be something that turns away many moviegoers who just want to turn their brains off for two hours? Or are they willing to sit through a movie that has a dystopian America that seems too familiar to what we have now? We shall see, but until then, God bless America.

Why Alex Garland's Civil War Is Bound to Feel All too Real (2025)
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