It’s been over 160 years because the American Civil War, however speak of a possible second battle options all too ceaselessly in US media, because the gulf between a divided nation continues to develop.

Writer-director Alex Garland’s newest blockbuster imagines a world of the close to future the place the Western Forces, a bunch of seceded US states led by Texas and California, battle Nick Offerman’s dictatorial president in his third time period of workplace.

Rather than giving particulars of what precisely sparked the Second American Civil War, this motion thriller focuses on the themes and characters explored via Garland’s glorious writing.

Civil War follows a bunch of warfare photojournalists who embark on the lengthy drive from New York to Washington DC to interview their Commander-in-Chief in his first (and possibly final) one for 14 months. 

Spider-Man star Kirsten Dunst’s character Lee leads the hacks, alongside aspiring photographer Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), as they traverse the wartorn dystopia via intense post-apocalyptic survival scenes very a lot harking back to the zombie style – one thing the writer-director isn't any stranger to after his masterful horror 28 Days Later.

Beautifully shot by cinematographer Rob Hardy, Civil War switches from quieter character-driven scenes to gripping edge-of-your-seat motion.

Dunst’s skilled photojournalist mentors Spaeny’s trainee, wrestling with the ethics of acquiring a superb story, the desensitised nature of their work and the nail-biting dangers they take.

Much of the latter includes following troopers into battle as they snap photographs from dwell fight to the horrors of tortured prisoners and blindfolded executions.

There’s even an ambiguity as to which facet the troops they encounter are on, with a few males in a single scene concentrating on a sniper just because he’s making an attempt to kill them. After all, they’re all Americans, however what sort of American?

This is a query requested at gunpoint in a single scene by Dunst’s real-life husband Jesse Plemons, as soon as once more giving a refined but terrifying efficiency as a well mannered monster.

Civil War (which hits UK cinemas on April 12, 2024) is a well timed and thought-provoking movie from indie manufacturing firm A24, with their greatest price range thus far at $50 million.