Alex Garland's Controversial Civil War Is Now Playing at Home
One of the year’s best and most polarizing movies just made its way home. Alex Garland’s Civil War, the terrifying near-future thriller about a United States that’s no longer so united, is now available on demand. It grossed almost $70 million domestically, which means plenty of movie fans saw it, but even more didn’t. So now, if you were on the fence, you can check it out in the comfort of your own home.
We reviewed the film when it opened in April and praised it for being not at all what you expect. From the trailers, it seemed like it was just going to be a movie about a Democrat vs. Republican, North vs. South conflict inspired by modern politics. But it’s not that at all. I mean, it’s “inspired” by that concept in that it’s about Americans fighting each other. However, we never find out what the issues are. We barely even get concrete definitions of who is on what side. The film objectively attacks the story from the viewpoint of journalists just trying to capture the story. And it’s a powerful storytelling device.
Civil War is available to watch on basically every digital platform that’s out there. Its distributor, A24, has created this handy link to all of them so you can click there and go to the service of your choosing. And we recommend you do. While Civil War may have been a tough watch in the theater, it’s a powerful, worthwhile film that’ll leave you thinking all about it.
When the film was released, we were lucky enough to talk to its writer and director Alex Garland about it. Here’s a quick clip of him breaking down the film’s ending. So, spoilers.
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