Restlessly provocative (/s).

They say an image is worth a thousand words. This movie is as deep as that cliche. Speaking of which, was there any other way this film was going to end? No not the 28 Days Later like raid of the White House, but the central war journalism story. And then the last exchange…was it really worth it? This seems to be a critical darling, but does this really paint journalism in a good light? And not that it has to, but the response is a little puzzling to me.

What isn't puzzling to me is that the one thing this has going for it is that Garland is very good at building tension. If you don’t like tension and sudden violence this isn’t the movie for you. I didn’t like Civil War but there are sequences that are scarier than most horror movies. The only problem is that I wish the movie felt like a cohesive story and not just a string of sequences. (the Civil War tie-in game soon to be available on all gaming consoles)

I knew not to go in expecting any sort of reflection or scathing commentary of American society and politics, and to be fair Americans have made many films at other countries expenses so someone returning the favor feels due. But, I don’t know, I did expect something more than war journalists riding the fine line between feeling alive and dying. Even during an imaginary second American civil war, that doesn’t feel interesting to me. It feels like a trick to take advantage of a spicy political climate.

And are you trying to tell me JCPenney was able to hold on until right before the civil war started? In a movie filled with unrealistic situations that was maybe the worst. Or had that mall been abandoned for years? (turns out this movie takes place in an alternate reality)

Jesse Plemons steals the movie (shocker) and Cailee Spaeny, well, looks like I need to make Priscilla a movie watching priority.

C