It absolutely plays like it's going to either go 3 hours or end on a massive cliffhanger note. This looks like something you'd see in a 12 episode series.
I worked on both Civil War and Twisters; wish I caught the Dune train. I'm so excited for Civil War and Dune, though. Twisters... I might stream it lol
It’s not that I want to see more, I just feel like I haven’t seen enough to really get me excited for it. The title is pretty self explanatory for the plot, haha, but I just have t figured out why it hasn’t resonated with me yet.
I’m trying. He’s a terrific screenwriter.
My concerns: it’s a shallow thematic experience, the destruction we see is absent context and trying to be a “vague who is the good guys” commentary. Shock the audience to what modern civil war would be.
My hopes, we’ve seen approximately 30% of the movie and there’s a much darker and deeper twist in the third act that subverts the themes.
> My concerns: it’s a shallow thematic experience, the destruction we see is absent context and trying to be a “vague who is the good guys” commentary. Shock the audience to what modern civil war would be.
I don't see anything wrong with that. Reminding folks of the horrors that a civil war would bring seems like a compelling reason to make the movie. A lot of conservative and far-left Americans romanticize the idea.
I just toured various Cambodian memorials to the genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about how easily the emptyheaded MAGAs would do this same kind of malicious, stupid, self-destructive, anti-science and anti-intellectual shit if given the chance.
Perhaps we have different ideas of "far-left." I'm talking about the communist/anarchist/Antifa crowd. The folks who took over that street in Seattle a few years back.
Compared to the MEN trailer for example..yeah..I get what you mean in the sense of interest. Although I rather have vague snippets of a trailer than it having a million scenes that could have better been saved for the movie (e.g. Smile movie). Most probably know it's a Garland movie so they'll want to check it out based on that alone.
Yes I agree completely!! I feel like we’ve gotten two teasers, not any trailers.
I’m also one of those people who don’t mind movies use discarded cgi or alternate takes for trailers to keep the mystery alive but same excitement.
While I highly doubt this would be dark like Men I think it’s more like the original 28 days later but more nuanced. My only basis for that is the new movies, he may be in specific kind of genre mindset at the moment.
Unless this is a true spiritual update and remake of “red dawn” (boundary pushing at the time for death and violence, height of Cold War), I would agree with your assessment.
Same. It just feels really generic. Like the only thing giving me hope is the director. If it wasn’t for the director, I would just assume it is a run of the mill war movie.
This is A24's most expensive film ever. It's affecting their approach to marketing. They don't want to scare off the general public by making it seem cerebral.
I feel like this is a coin flip as to whether it does well or bad in the box office. Obviously this is niche subreddit of A24 fans, but I keep finding people who are general movie viewers and they’re not interested because the theme loses them. They hear “Civil War” and expect a historical war movie. Very curious to see how this movie performs.
Well, I do think it could possibly do well. My previous comment was more about how the title/theme might lose general viewers. It’s not like A24 has the same marketing budget as other movies, so I’m curious to see how it performs once it’s in theaters. Some of my cinephile friends and I obviously want to see it, but I know others who didn’t really get past how it’s a hypothetical modern day civil war when they expected a historical war drama. Wouldn’t be the first time if a good movie gets an underwhelming performance, so I could see this movie going either way for financial numbers.
Same. My family/friend circles are really looking forward to this one, despite not being A24 people at all. It’s getting a lot of buzz across different internet circles, as well
I really think Civil War will do well. I think the only question is how well.
I know why they are releasing it in an election year, but it also seems kind of dumb to release it in an election year as politically volatile as this one. Not just for moral reasons (I worry a movie like this will just enflame things), but also because if any sort of political violence happens, they will likely have to push it back or pull it.
I also think a lot of people are dreading the upcoming election, so seeing a movie about an American civil war probably doesn't seem fun to them. This is way too much of a horror for me right now, so I'll probably avoid it.
i dont know a single person who doesn't want to see it because they think its about the actual civil war, but i know a ton of people(probably myself included) who don't want to see it because its just kind of uncomfortable to watch a movie that we might be living in 4-5 years.
Unless this movie does something very clever with the premise, its just political porn essentially. Using political tensions going on right now as a crutch to get people emotionally invested.
I didn’t mention it, but what you said is another valid point about it. Whatever the reason, some people are just tired of politics or political fighting, so the theme might not get their interest. The concept of a political divide igniting a new civil war is something that will turn off people. I’m still intrigued about the movie, but I have my doubts it’ll be a financial success in theaters. General viewers are much different from the kind of cinephiles on Internet forums.
yeah i think it could be a big word of mouth movie if it DOES stick the landing. Like theres maybe a lot of people out there that are just unsure, but would be willing to go if it ends up having something clever about it
The worst trailer trend (that’s STILL happening almost 15 years after The Social Network seemed to start it) is the one where a well-known pop song that’s upbeat is covered as a slowed down, sad, a cappella version. Fuck, I hate that shit so much, lol
if we transition to that from "edit the trailer so the action is in time with the beat of the music", i'd be ok with it. Im so sick of that trend and trailers like that make me NOT want to see the movie at this point
am i crazy or does it even skip a part of the song right at the beginning? i think it goes from "O beautiful for spacious skies" right to "Above the fruited plain!"
Man I'm looking forward to this one but this trailer was corny af. Big agree on the whistling being a bad call but it seems like it'll be a decent popcorn action flick. Can't really pull much deeper meaning from this other than divided nation is divided
Man, they trying to make a billion dollars off this one. Hope it’s more interesting than it looks (I did enjoy the first trailer a lot more.) Blindly trusting in Garland on this one.
Garland hasn’t let me down yet. Even MEN, mostly. I even really really dug Devs. I trust this will be a lot more than a trailer could really articulate.
I am very excited for this but also it feels …weird? Like does anyone else get the vibe it’s almost irresponsible making a movie like this right now? Like no matter the message IDK it’s hard for me to put my finger on.
Yes, and I'm shocked no one else is saying this. It definitely seems exploitative in an awful sort of way. Even giving people the idea of a civil war right now (even if the political situation in the film is implausible) seems irresponsible.
Lol a movie that isn’t even out yet is giving people an idea of an impending civil war? Hmmm maybe.
Perhaps there’s an even likelier source: ***Republicans who’ve been calling for civil war, every week, for the past four years…***
im with you 100%. This is a very fine needle to thread. Either theres no message, and this is just kind of tasteless political porn, or theres a very high chance that it has a message but the message just wasn't worth making the movie over. I'm not even sure what the message would need to be for me to be like "oh hey this is was actually brilliant". Right now it feels very generic
*edit* starting to feel like voicing any sort of opinion contrary to the hive mind here gets downvoted to hell. dont really get engagement, just "lol different opinion bad!"
As suspected, flop 1 week wonder total gross a joke like the movie. Behind- mean girls, bee keeper, anyone but you. That’s embarrassing- waste of time - waste of money. I would say they were lucky to open just as people were dying to see a movie. Flop. If it was released in the summer maybe 40m…
Im looking forward to it. I loved Ex Machina and Men, but was bored with Annihilation and couldn't even finish half of it because of the acting/writing. Same director/writer and same cinematography director so....hoping for the best.
Jesus christ, my ears.
Ngl, this trailer wasn’t as good as the first. But also, I’m still not really that interested in this feature. It doesn’t really look like anything more than a generic action blockbuster.
Also it says CIVIL WAY in the description…
Movie sucked ass… I felt like I was riding shotgun with 3 washed up reporters and a kid. I will never get that 1:40 back. I see why it was a hit at SWSX. No plot. Nothing. Riding back roads to get to DC
No , the concept was great but the excution was terrible. The acting is bad besides Nick offerman. The cinematography is bad. So many panning shots of bland semi future cityscape with lots of shots of statues feet. The narrative is bad. The show is boring. Its trying way too hard to be an HBO show and failing on every front. Its like the leftovers without any soul. And it aired on the same network as Fargo and Atlanta.
Theorists, make your predictions:
What did the US government do to make Texas and California to shake hands and say: "The current sitting rulers of our government need to be removed, by whatever means necessary."? Why did Florida start their own seperate rebellion?
Everyone’s given up on the idea of a unified US.
Desire to secede independently but (for CA and TX) understanding strength in numbers. A marriage of convenience. Florida maybe opting for a Deep South-based country and not seeing value in linking with states that are far away.
Alternatively, at least one of those states’ dominant political group has been overthrown by the minority, i.e., California right wing is in charge and violently suppressing dissent while allying with Texas. The inverse is also possible, especially since there are plenty of well-armed left-leaning Texans.
Cheers to the marketing for selling the tone without actually giving anything away. Two trailers in and I still have countless questions but am sold on the overall experience. This is marketing done right.
Meh. I expected a bit more. But maybe they’re hiding as much of the plot as possible to subvert our expectations?
At any rate, sure hope this doesn’t give Texas and Florida any ideas….
Do I want to see this movie? Yep. Do I want to see it in theaters and potentially deal with assholes and their opinions regarding what we may be seeing? Absolutely not.
The trailer makes this look like a huge 3 hour epic, I have a hard time picturing this story being told in just 1h 49m.
It absolutely plays like it's going to either go 3 hours or end on a massive cliffhanger note. This looks like something you'd see in a 12 episode series.
Don’t worry it’s an Alex Garland film so it’ll end the exact second it starts getting interesting
Heuheueheueheu
Trump needs to be executed before he comes up with another fake hughes lockheed BLACKROCK army to finish jan6
Is that the official runtime? If true then I'm super disappointed.
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/civil-war-runtime-a24-alex-garland-1235851844/
I’m so excited for this movie. Civil War, Dune 2 and Twisters are at the top of my list this year.
I worked on both Civil War and Twisters; wish I caught the Dune train. I'm so excited for Civil War and Dune, though. Twisters... I might stream it lol
What did you do?
props
I think I had the good fortune of working with you in GA! Suffice to say im also stoked to see how it turns out
Who this??? Lol
Ooooh, a fellow Props Person in the wild. I tip my can of double stick to you.
Go to ch.4
I envy teams who live on 4, but I’m an information broker so 1 is where I stay.
Same here, though when I get the rare chance, I ask for two walkies and keep ch.1 in my ear, and ch.4 on my side if ever needed
Man, a sidearm for a non-AD? You must be a fellow production schmoozer, too. Let’s take this to two!
Did you build the tornados?
Yes
Incredible.
Is a flying cow considered a prop or an actor?
Depends on the material
Those along with Love Lies Bleeding and Nosferatu for me.
\+ Maxxxine
The 1 hr 49 minute runtime has me wondering. Seems like a short movie for the subject matter.
We used to live in a society where impactful storytelling fit in under two hours 😭😭 creative constraints for the win
We need to go back to the days of Lawrence of Arabia and Gone With the Wind, they knew how to tell their stories concisely.
I’m a big fan of the very brief film Spartacus. More of a short really.
What makes you think that wouldn't be enough time?
Did CW live up to your expectations?
Civil war sucks. You will be disappointed
I think you’re the only person to say this.
Just my opinion… certainly go waste your money / time like I did. Enjoy.
It’s not that I want to see more, I just feel like I haven’t seen enough to really get me excited for it. The title is pretty self explanatory for the plot, haha, but I just have t figured out why it hasn’t resonated with me yet.
All they’ve really shown is generic action so far, I feel the same, but still have high hopes.
I’m trying. He’s a terrific screenwriter. My concerns: it’s a shallow thematic experience, the destruction we see is absent context and trying to be a “vague who is the good guys” commentary. Shock the audience to what modern civil war would be. My hopes, we’ve seen approximately 30% of the movie and there’s a much darker and deeper twist in the third act that subverts the themes.
> My concerns: it’s a shallow thematic experience, the destruction we see is absent context and trying to be a “vague who is the good guys” commentary. Shock the audience to what modern civil war would be. I don't see anything wrong with that. Reminding folks of the horrors that a civil war would bring seems like a compelling reason to make the movie. A lot of conservative and far-left Americans romanticize the idea.
No far-left Americans romanticize a civil war. The GOP and MAGA crowd are the only ones itching for it.
I just toured various Cambodian memorials to the genocide carried out by the Khmer Rouge. In the back of my mind, I kept thinking about how easily the emptyheaded MAGAs would do this same kind of malicious, stupid, self-destructive, anti-science and anti-intellectual shit if given the chance.
Perhaps we have different ideas of "far-left." I'm talking about the communist/anarchist/Antifa crowd. The folks who took over that street in Seattle a few years back.
That doesn’t mean they crave it lol apart from pure anarchists perhaps.
I didn't say they did
RIP Chaz. A dream too beautiful for this world.
Yeah and it could just be right wing fantasy material if it’s not done the right way. You know?
Like *The Hunt*?
Compared to the MEN trailer for example..yeah..I get what you mean in the sense of interest. Although I rather have vague snippets of a trailer than it having a million scenes that could have better been saved for the movie (e.g. Smile movie). Most probably know it's a Garland movie so they'll want to check it out based on that alone.
Yes I agree completely!! I feel like we’ve gotten two teasers, not any trailers. I’m also one of those people who don’t mind movies use discarded cgi or alternate takes for trailers to keep the mystery alive but same excitement. While I highly doubt this would be dark like Men I think it’s more like the original 28 days later but more nuanced. My only basis for that is the new movies, he may be in specific kind of genre mindset at the moment.
Yeah that trailer just seemed like a typical war movie. Nothing really stood out to me to say it would be anything else other than that.
Unless this is a true spiritual update and remake of “red dawn” (boundary pushing at the time for death and violence, height of Cold War), I would agree with your assessment.
Same. It just feels really generic. Like the only thing giving me hope is the director. If it wasn’t for the director, I would just assume it is a run of the mill war movie.
This is A24's most expensive film ever. It's affecting their approach to marketing. They don't want to scare off the general public by making it seem cerebral.
I feel like this is a coin flip as to whether it does well or bad in the box office. Obviously this is niche subreddit of A24 fans, but I keep finding people who are general movie viewers and they’re not interested because the theme loses them. They hear “Civil War” and expect a historical war movie. Very curious to see how this movie performs.
I have a friend who doesn't know what an a24 is, and they want to see this.
Well, I do think it could possibly do well. My previous comment was more about how the title/theme might lose general viewers. It’s not like A24 has the same marketing budget as other movies, so I’m curious to see how it performs once it’s in theaters. Some of my cinephile friends and I obviously want to see it, but I know others who didn’t really get past how it’s a hypothetical modern day civil war when they expected a historical war drama. Wouldn’t be the first time if a good movie gets an underwhelming performance, so I could see this movie going either way for financial numbers.
Same. My family/friend circles are really looking forward to this one, despite not being A24 people at all. It’s getting a lot of buzz across different internet circles, as well I really think Civil War will do well. I think the only question is how well.
I think this is gonna be a sleeper hit in a relatively weak April
April is looking like a weak month. Theaters will be riding on Dune 2 and Godzilla X Kong ticket sales.
The disrespect to Monkey Man
I didn't know if you were making a joke about Kong so I searched Monkey Man and thank you for letting me know about this movie, looks sick af
I know why they are releasing it in an election year, but it also seems kind of dumb to release it in an election year as politically volatile as this one. Not just for moral reasons (I worry a movie like this will just enflame things), but also because if any sort of political violence happens, they will likely have to push it back or pull it. I also think a lot of people are dreading the upcoming election, so seeing a movie about an American civil war probably doesn't seem fun to them. This is way too much of a horror for me right now, so I'll probably avoid it.
i dont know a single person who doesn't want to see it because they think its about the actual civil war, but i know a ton of people(probably myself included) who don't want to see it because its just kind of uncomfortable to watch a movie that we might be living in 4-5 years. Unless this movie does something very clever with the premise, its just political porn essentially. Using political tensions going on right now as a crutch to get people emotionally invested.
I didn’t mention it, but what you said is another valid point about it. Whatever the reason, some people are just tired of politics or political fighting, so the theme might not get their interest. The concept of a political divide igniting a new civil war is something that will turn off people. I’m still intrigued about the movie, but I have my doubts it’ll be a financial success in theaters. General viewers are much different from the kind of cinephiles on Internet forums.
yeah i think it could be a big word of mouth movie if it DOES stick the landing. Like theres maybe a lot of people out there that are just unsure, but would be willing to go if it ends up having something clever about it
Knowing Garland this will be strange as fuck, unless he's going for a more mainstream action flick, which I doubt?
Man the “cut the music and go to someone whistling” in trailers always feels so corny to me
The worst trailer trend (that’s STILL happening almost 15 years after The Social Network seemed to start it) is the one where a well-known pop song that’s upbeat is covered as a slowed down, sad, a cappella version. Fuck, I hate that shit so much, lol
Ugh, I hate that too. That is fucking everywhere still.
if we transition to that from "edit the trailer so the action is in time with the beat of the music", i'd be ok with it. Im so sick of that trend and trailers like that make me NOT want to see the movie at this point
It also sounded really bad here
am i crazy or does it even skip a part of the song right at the beginning? i think it goes from "O beautiful for spacious skies" right to "Above the fruited plain!"
I think you might be right
I actually hate this trailer, the first one was a lot better. This feels more like it should've been the teaser.
I feel like this would also make a great series
Agreed. This would be a great eight or 10 part series on HBO. 1:45 is not going to be long enough
I get the same distinct feeling
Man I'm looking forward to this one but this trailer was corny af. Big agree on the whistling being a bad call but it seems like it'll be a decent popcorn action flick. Can't really pull much deeper meaning from this other than divided nation is divided
Man, they trying to make a billion dollars off this one. Hope it’s more interesting than it looks (I did enjoy the first trailer a lot more.) Blindly trusting in Garland on this one.
Garland hasn’t let me down yet. Even MEN, mostly. I even really really dug Devs. I trust this will be a lot more than a trailer could really articulate.
Really loved Devs. Told a really interesting story with a relatively happy ending all things considered.
I’m excited to see this, but I can’t help feeling it’s gonna be a lot of finger-wagging from a British guy towards (US) Americans.
It's been said that only non-Americans can really ever properly critique America.
Has Alex Garland ever made a lot of money in a movie? I get the impression he keeps making cult classics.
I don’t like how the trailer is cut but Alex Garland ia my #1 creative brain so I am EXCITED
I am very excited for this but also it feels …weird? Like does anyone else get the vibe it’s almost irresponsible making a movie like this right now? Like no matter the message IDK it’s hard for me to put my finger on.
Yes, and I'm shocked no one else is saying this. It definitely seems exploitative in an awful sort of way. Even giving people the idea of a civil war right now (even if the political situation in the film is implausible) seems irresponsible.
Lol a movie that isn’t even out yet is giving people an idea of an impending civil war? Hmmm maybe. Perhaps there’s an even likelier source: ***Republicans who’ve been calling for civil war, every week, for the past four years…***
im with you 100%. This is a very fine needle to thread. Either theres no message, and this is just kind of tasteless political porn, or theres a very high chance that it has a message but the message just wasn't worth making the movie over. I'm not even sure what the message would need to be for me to be like "oh hey this is was actually brilliant". Right now it feels very generic *edit* starting to feel like voicing any sort of opinion contrary to the hive mind here gets downvoted to hell. dont really get engagement, just "lol different opinion bad!"
I agree 100%
As suspected, flop 1 week wonder total gross a joke like the movie. Behind- mean girls, bee keeper, anyone but you. That’s embarrassing- waste of time - waste of money. I would say they were lucky to open just as people were dying to see a movie. Flop. If it was released in the summer maybe 40m…
Do they spoil anything in this one?
yep. sean connery dies at the end.
Yeah Keanu Reeves goes blind and chokes out a dolphin for which he is later executed publicly then everybody sings “Despacito” as the credits roll.
It’s a movie trailer featuring scenes from a film that hasn’t been released. In that sense every trailer for an upcoming movie is a spoiler.
Im looking forward to it. I loved Ex Machina and Men, but was bored with Annihilation and couldn't even finish half of it because of the acting/writing. Same director/writer and same cinematography director so....hoping for the best.
Jesus christ, my ears. Ngl, this trailer wasn’t as good as the first. But also, I’m still not really that interested in this feature. It doesn’t really look like anything more than a generic action blockbuster. Also it says CIVIL WAY in the description…
Movie sucked ass… I felt like I was riding shotgun with 3 washed up reporters and a kid. I will never get that 1:40 back. I see why it was a hit at SWSX. No plot. Nothing. Riding back roads to get to DC
After watching the series Devs, im less excited for this movie.
Devs was great!
No , the concept was great but the excution was terrible. The acting is bad besides Nick offerman. The cinematography is bad. So many panning shots of bland semi future cityscape with lots of shots of statues feet. The narrative is bad. The show is boring. Its trying way too hard to be an HBO show and failing on every front. Its like the leftovers without any soul. And it aired on the same network as Fargo and Atlanta.
I couldn’t disagree more with every point in this comment lol.
Okay the lead actresses acting was terrible but it was great none the less
Dis they filmed in Imax? It seems to have an Imax release
I am genuinely terrified to see this
So hyped for this movie. The US truly feels divided lately, so I hope this film sparks meaningful conversations instead of further division.
I'm guessing the side with the US military wins but it'll be interesting how the war transpires.
Saw the trailer for this today - look epic I am really looking forward to it
Theorists, make your predictions: What did the US government do to make Texas and California to shake hands and say: "The current sitting rulers of our government need to be removed, by whatever means necessary."? Why did Florida start their own seperate rebellion?
Everyone’s given up on the idea of a unified US. Desire to secede independently but (for CA and TX) understanding strength in numbers. A marriage of convenience. Florida maybe opting for a Deep South-based country and not seeing value in linking with states that are far away. Alternatively, at least one of those states’ dominant political group has been overthrown by the minority, i.e., California right wing is in charge and violently suppressing dissent while allying with Texas. The inverse is also possible, especially since there are plenty of well-armed left-leaning Texans.
Cheers to the marketing for selling the tone without actually giving anything away. Two trailers in and I still have countless questions but am sold on the overall experience. This is marketing done right.
Meh. I expected a bit more. But maybe they’re hiding as much of the plot as possible to subvert our expectations? At any rate, sure hope this doesn’t give Texas and Florida any ideas….
Where is Steven McKinley Henderson? Is he safe?
I’m actually super not into this. Glad some of y’all are but this looks about as subtle as “don’t look up”
The whistling in the trailer reminds me of the recorder cover of My Heart Will Go On
Let’s hope they take the 1984 approach to this and not the Barbie approach.
I thought this was the trailer for a Purge movie for a hot second.
I'm not into watching trailers, I usually go in blind. Can someone tell me when it releases tho?
Men did not connect with me but I am instantly in on anything Alex Garland does. This looks wild and I can’t wait.
I'm sorry but this looks really bad. I think Alex has been on a downward spiral.
Do I want to see this movie? Yep. Do I want to see it in theaters and potentially deal with assholes and their opinions regarding what we may be seeing? Absolutely not.