'Everyone should see' Amazon Prime war film leaves critics completely gripped

The 2024 edge-of-your-seat film Civil War is receiving rave reviews on popular movie platform Just Watch. The 109-minute epic stars Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, Nick Offerman, and Cailee Spaeny, and is set in a dystopian future where the is at war with itself.

The synopsis reads: "A group of journalists attempt to stay alive and cover the outbreak of a second civil war in the United States. In a not so distant future, all out war has broken out in the United States of America, with 19 states already seceding from the union and the country divided into a so-called Western Force in Texas and California and the rest of the US. Meanwhile, a group of journalists try and keep the population informed at great personal risk."

The action thriller, written by Alex Garland, sees four journalists travel from New York City to Washington DC to interview the president before the capital city is taken.

The movie is A24's most expensive production, costing £37million to make. It grossed a whopping £95million at the box office. It was well received by critics, and has an 81% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics on justwatch.com have given the movie stellar reviews.

Jack Seale wrote: "You expect a clever concept from writer/director Alex Garland (Ex Machina, Annihilation) and you get one here, with a horrifyingly plausible, expansively rendered portrait of what America might look like if hatred takes over completely and its people turn on each other.

"It's an eerily convincing dystopia. But in the story of photographer Lee (Kirsten Dunst), reporter Joel (Wagner Moura) and friends trying to make it across a shattered country to interview the doomed President, Garland also finds a hyper-tense, addictive road-movie thriller where there is a dark surprise around every corner."

Just Watch editor David Opie said: "Filmmaker Alex Garland cuts close to home with this dystopian action/horror that imagines the United States at war with itself. How this happened isn't as important as the personal impact of the conflict that becomes painfully clear as we follow a team of photojournalists who chronicle the devastation with an unflinching eye.

"Kirsten Dunst reminds us why she's one of our best actors working today, but it's the sound design that steals the show here, pulsating with an undercurrent of menace that grips and unsettles in equal measure. A tough watch that everyone should see."