Even thoughCivil Wardoesn’t answer a lot of questions about the world it builds, the plot is rather simple to follow. It’s about four journalists banding together across the country to interview the President during a literal civil war.
They begin in New York and have to make their way down to Washington D.C. and the White House around the state of Maryland. It’s a thrilling political movie that is assuredly going to get the country talking.Civil Warhas some funny lines in it despite all of the drama along with some poignant ones in thislatest A24 film.
8“We Are Closer Than We Have Ever Been…”
President Of The United States
The President of this movie does not have a name, but he is played by a famous actor, Nick Offerman. Game fans will undoubtedly recognize him as Bill from HBO’sThe Last of Uswhile Alex Garland fans, the director, may recognize Nick from a show Alex produced calledDevs.
The President kicks off this movie by rehearsing a speech on the state of the nation. He’s nervous, unkept, and clearly has no idea what to do. It’s a good preview of what’s to come.
7“Just Make Sure You Get The Words Out Before The Piano Wire Around Your Neck.”
Sammy
Sammy says this early on in the movie, while all of the journalists are talking in a hotel. It’s after Joel says he plans to interview the President but Sammy is unsure he can ask anything clever. The President and his staff want to cover up any wrongdoings and to just talk about positives.
It’s here that viewers learn the President is in his third term in office and that he disbanded the FBI.Civil Warleaves a lot of questions unanswered but little details like this are good to help build upthis conspiracy-fueled thriller.
6“I Didn’t Take A Single Picture.”
Jessie
Jessie is a young girl who dreams about becoming a photojournalist like her hero, Lee, in the movie. She’s kind of like Jade fromBeyond Good and Evil, a Ubisoft classic, who also uses a camera to dig up dirt on corruption.
An early scene finds Jessie being led away by a freedom fighter to look at hanging thieves. She cannot form any words or take any pictures even though she should. She confides this to Lee later after Lee has stepped in to lead Jessie away from the horrifying scene.
5“What Do You Think?”
Lee
In this same scene at camp, Jessie asks Lee a question. “Would you take my picture if I got shot?” That’s when Lee retorts with, “What do you think?” This is to imply that yes, of course, Lee will photograph Jessie if she gets shot during one of the many warring conflicts in the movie.
However, the opposite happens inCivil Waras Lee is the one who gets shot while rescuing Jessie who then takes the opportunity to capture Lee’s death on film. It’s a clever use of foreshadowing to makea dramatic twist.
4“Cool.”
Christmas Village Sniper
One of the most intense scenes happens in a seemingly abandoned Christmas-themed village in the middle of nowhere. As Joel approaches with the van,a rogue snipertries to take them out. The four journalists then pile out of the van and duck for cover wherein they find a spotter and another sniper trying to take out the enemy.
While Joel flashes his press pass to get information out of the “good” sniper, he simply replies with, “Cool.” This sniper does not care about Joel or any other journalist at the moment because he just wants to survive this sniper fight.
3“Get In The F***ing Car!”
Another intense scene happens slightly after the sniper duel. While trying to de-escalate a situation with Presidential-backed soldiers who keep executing people, Sammy rockets into the meeting with the van. He takes out one of the soldiers and then screams this line for the others to get in.
It’sanother noble sacrificein the movie because, in the process, Sammy gets shot and soon dies. This might have been the reason why Lee later sacrifices herself too.
2“I’ve Never Felt More Scared And More Alive At The Same Time.”
After the incident involving those Presidential soldiers and Sammy’s death, Lee and Jessie have a quiet moment together by a lake. Jessie confides in Lee that it was the most terrifying experience of her life because Jessie was one of the hostages.
She also fell into a pit of dead bodies which was some horrific imagery fora non-horror piece of media. However, Jessie also implies she never felt more alive. Her fuel to get coverage in a sea of danger is best showcased at the siege in D.C.
1“Yeah, That’ll Do.”
Joel
Joel has the final line of the movie. Once the WF soldiers capture the President, he asks them to stand down for a second so that he can get a quote from him. The President’s response is, “Please don’t let them kill me.” After a short beat of silence, Joel says, “Yeah, that’ll do.” After which these soldiers just tear the President to pieces with bullets and then the credits roll.
It’s a gruesome way to end the Civil War, but also a bit satisfying in a grim way since this President is assumed to be a war criminal who killed millions of Americans with poor policies.
