Civil War From Alex Garland Declared a ‘Masterpiece’ & ‘Best Movie of the Year’ in First Reactions

Writer and director Alex Garland’s Civil War has now debuted at SXSW, and it sounds like we could have a serious contender for movie of the year. Alex Garland, who is best known for the likes of 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Ex Machina, and Annihilation, delivers audiences a dystopian action movie that promises to highlight the political divisions of the modern world. And critics are calling it nothing less than a “masterpiece.”

“Watching it, one can’t help but feel how close we are to this actually happening, making it a MUST SEE to stop it before it actually does,” says one critic, with another describing Civil War as “like a cross between a civil war movie and an A24 movie.”

According to those in attendance at SXSW, Civil War “is propulsive, grade-A entertainment, fluent in political theory and cinema history” that uses “a group of military-embedded journalists to highlight the deeply chilling reality of living in a world that never learns.”

Critics Compare Civil War to Christopher Nolan & Apocalypse Now

Some are even comparing the movie to the works of recent Oscar winner and box office draw Christopher Nolan and saying, “Alex Garland doing Nolan-esque scale while showing his flare for propulsion.” Another calls the movie “Garland’s best work – flawless cinematography & gripping from start to finish.”

If that were not already enough to convince you, then perhaps the comparisons to the iconic 1979 war epic Apocalypse Now will: “Not only is CIVIL WAR Alex Garland’s best film, it’s his APOCALYPSE NOW.” Further comments call Civil War “not only the best movie of the year but the most important.”

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Why Alex Garland’s Civil War Is Bound to Feel All Too Real

Alex Garland’s Civil War is coming this April, is a tale of an America heavily divided, and feels oddly similar to things we’ve seen before.

Civil War drops audiences in the (frightfully) near future, and follows a team of journalists as they travel across the United States during the rapidly escalating Second American Civil War that has engulfed the entire nation between the U.S. government and separatist “Western Forces.”

You can check out the official synopsis for Civil War below.

“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.”

Civil War features an all-star cast led by Kirsten Dunst and Wagner Moura. The rest of the cast includes Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, Jefferson White, and Jesse Plemons, with Nick Offerman as the President of the United States.