The Movie "Civil War" Had Me On The Edge Of My Seat

Murray Close. Getty Images.

There was no NBA last night so I went to my local AMC to catch the movie, "Civil War" on the silver screen. I had earmarked this one a few months ago when I saw the previews of a futuristic vision of a divided America as both an action and a thriller fan. The movies is starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman.

The plot is there are basically two factions of America at war with each other and Lee Smith, a well renowned war photographer, played by Kirsten Dunst looks to go to the front lines in Washington D.C. to get some good shots of the action. She and her journalist co-worker played by Wagner Moura have a long winding trek to D.C. from New York City that must avoid several dangerous areas. They give rides to two other journlists, played by Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Cailee Spaeny.

The entire ride is very long as they go west through Pittsburgh, then down to West Virginia on their first destination in Charlottesville, VA. Throughout their journey, each stop is heart pounding and offers it's own potential pitfall. One scene in particular that features Kirsten Dunst's husband, Jesse Plemons was absolutely terrifying, yet terrific.

Overall, the movie is very much a violent war film, but offers a different lense as you're seeing it in the position of a war photographer. If you think you take your job too seriously, watch this film and realize that's not possible to a higher degree than a war photographer. Despite my complaints of other movie's lengths, I wish this movie was longer. 1 hour and 49 minutes could've easily added another 25-30 on if they focused more on the politics of the conflict. The character development is great and you really become attached to the four in that car. I enjoyed my trip to the movies with this one.