Was a decent film overall, a lot less warfare than I expected in a film about a fictional 2nd civil war. Acting was pretty solid all around, even though this didn't have any heavy hitters.
Nick Offerman played the demagogue dictator disguised as a populist really well. Just a handful of small scenes, but great.
So, uh... just reassure me that it doesn't resolve with some Right Wing wet dream takeover where they own all the libs and install their strongman cult leader?
About the president? It's in the trailers. It's also revealed in very beginning of the film.
Concerning the separatist: [SPOILER - highlight to read]: The separatist are the good guys, they're fighting against the dictator to restore a democracy But again, it's said in the beginning.
I watched this and rather liked it. It's a hard watch at times. Very heavy and matter-of-fact with the violence. It largely avoids politics, probably smartly. The photojournalism route is a very interesting take.
Hm, I suspect you're probably right considering the President's rhetoric, but I didn't catch any dialogue that states that explicitly. (But then again I didn't understand every line of dialogue without subs, so maybe I missed something.) But I think they smartly kept it pretty vague.
My only issue was [SPOILER - highlight to read]: the sort of cheesy end with Kirsten Dunst saving the girl, dying, and then the movie doesn't even address her death?. That was weird, but otherwise a great movie. That scene with Jesse Plemons that you see a bit of in the trailer: goddamn.
The old black reporter explicitly states/jokes that the President [SPOILER - highlight to read]: used force to go a 3rd term and has droned US civilians on American soil
I do vaguely remember the airstrikes [SPOILER - highlight to read]: on Americans portion.
I totally missed the [SPOILER - highlight to read]: 3rd term line. Though I heard others mention it in reviews I watched.
There are some elements that are a little odd, though, and I guess it's hard to make it all make sense in a film like this, but I'm assuming the oppressive military factions trying to suppress the WF and fight for the President would want to destroy all press and journalists without a second thought. Right? So why Jesse Plemons' character would even hesitate at all to just murder them all seems a bit odd. I would assume they wouldn't hold ANY reverence for the press and journalists. I guess you could say they were just dragging it out for a bit of 'fun'. But other battle sequences where they're avoiding hitting the press seems unlikely, except that you'd probably want to save ammunition for the ones shooting back at you.
But I loved the photo journalist aspect. It was great the way it gave you a weird, quasi-detached vantage point to everything going on. You were in it, but not entirely. Just going along for the 'ride.' So it provided a little different POV than other war movies.
Also... (BIG spoiler) [SPOILER - highlight to read]: it seems highly improbable that a scenario like this would end with the rebels hunting down and killing the President considering all the military and defense he would have at his disposal. But it certainly is a happy ending.
To me, Plemons character seemed to be doing his own thing afforded by the safety a war brings, he appeared to be your average Rightwing racist living out his [SPOILER - highlight to read]: murder-revenge fantasies, mostly on non-white people.. While he appeared to be part of the President's faction, I don't think he was acting specifically on behalf of any government. But maybe.
The story implied and then stated that the President [SPOILER - highlight to read]: was losing support and his own forces where surrenderingto the WF.
Eh, kinda. He was more making the point that rational people regardless of political views can all agree that fascism is bad and having a President who acts like a dictator is bad.
California and Texas also have the most active duty, plus coastal access for ships. Kinda needed the heavy hitters to join up in order to take on the rest.
Probably the first and only time I'll see a movie based on a real event that just hasn't happened yet. Looking forward to November to see it happen for real. 😂
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Apr 10th, 2024 04:44 PM
