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Post by joekiddlouischama on May 30, 2024 10:08:41 GMT
This movie is overly cynical trash. The only message seems to be 'People are terrible.' None of the characters are particularly likeable, which makes the ending feel hollow. If the movie was supposed to be about war, it needs to explain how we got here. If it's supposed to be about the journalists, it should've given them more personality. If it's a metacommentary on the political climate or attitudes towards journalism, it needed to make stronger statements for and against. It's insane that the Plemons character is the only one who feels like you understand their motivation, twisted as it may be. Don't bother making a movie called 'Civil War' if you're afraid to make genuine observations about either 'side.' I understand where you are coming from, and I am not contesting your viewpoint. But I would suggest that Civil War justifies its cynicism thematically. In other words, the film indicates that war breeds cynicism and opportunism, that there is no nobility or glory to the enterprise. By design, there are no heroes here, just hardened headcases or eager youngsters destined to follow in their mentors' fatalistic footsteps. Civil War constitutes a surrealistic allegory, analogous in that sense to Apocalypse Now—not on that level or with that type of sophistication, timelessness, and dark power, of course, but somewhat similar in manner. Thus the "metacommentary" is very broad and suggestive: an altered refraction, today's dangers tilted on their axis. If the film was supposed to be less metaphorical in bent, I would probably concur with your criticism.
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Post by CrepedCrusader on Jun 1, 2024 2:44:49 GMT
Just saw it for the third time. I think I've seen Dune 2 three times as well. My two favorites so far this year.
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Post by Nora on Jun 1, 2024 23:48:06 GMT
Just saw it for the third time. I think I've seen Dune 2 three times as well. My two favorites so far this year. what new element of it did you enjoy each time?
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Post by CrepedCrusader on Jun 4, 2024 5:18:16 GMT
Just saw it for the third time. I think I've seen Dune 2 three times as well. My two favorites so far this year. what new element of it did you enjoy each time? I don't think I found some new element to focus on in repeat viewings. But damn, I just think this movie is near perfect. This and Dune 2 will be hard to top.
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Post by joekiddlouischama on Jun 11, 2024 10:08:49 GMT
what new element of it did you enjoy each time? I don't think I found some new element to focus on in repeat viewings. But damn, I just think this movie is near perfect. This and Dune 2 will be hard to top. Yeah, I saw Civil War on a second occasion, and I did not unearth anything new with another screening, nor did I expect to—it was not something that I "needed" to see again, in the sense of trying to better grasp something or gain a greater appreciation. I simply viewed the film again because I really enjoyed it the first time, and my response to a second screening proved the same, even without the element of surprise: "very good." Another viewing did remind me of the dark power of the extended scene with Jesse Plemons—truly a great scene—and also the excellence of the long climactic sequence. I certainly appreciated the film's reconstruction of the White House and its surrounding environs the first time, but on this occasion, I especially noticed how fluid the visual construction and editing happen to be during the climactic street battles. Indeed, those passages are very well-shot and well-cut. The second time, I came out of the theater and into my car, driving home, feeling as if the movie's scenario could actually take place, and even feeling excited about it, even though nothing could be more dystopian. And such is the irony that Civil War presents: that there can be excitement in dystopia, and the mix is both alluring and shuddering.
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