movie review ike the war years

Ike: The War Years

Film details, brief synopsis, cast & crew, mitchell group, robert duvall, paul gleason, julia mckenzie, clifton jones, technical specs.

Eisenhower the military man is the focus of this TV miniseries, his relationship with the other wartime leaders, and, very discreetly, his personal relationship with his driver, Kay Summersby. "Ike" came up with five Emmy Award nominations: Outstanding Cinematography (Part 2), Outstanding Film Editing (Part 3), and three others in the technical category. Subsequently titled "Ike: The War Years," and cut to four hours.

William Schallert

Laurence luckinbill, ronald leigh-hunt, lowell thomas, robert james, james keane, ian richardson, bonnie bartlett, maurice marsac, jonathan banks, patricia michael, vernon dobtcheff.

Wolfgang Preiss

Darren Mcgavin

Richard mckenzie, patrick culliton, terence alexander.

Dana Andrews

Francis Matthews

Vincent marzello, clifford earl, don fellows, richard herd, william boyett, anne clements, j. d. cannon, stephen roberts, wensley pithey, charles gray, david de keyser, major wiley, michael malnick, redmond gleeson, lise hilboldt, peter hobbs, colonel jerry c burch, marge champion, arch r. dalzell, fred karlin, bill mccutchen, kay summersby morgan, peter murton, miriam nelson, ward preston, rodney rushton, lauren sand, kent schafer, melville shavelson, frank tallman, john m woodcock, freddie young, miscellaneous notes.

Aired in United States May 3, 1979

Aired in United States May 4, 1979

Aired in United States May 6, 1979

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Ike: The War Years Reviews

• 3 hr 16 mins
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Dramatization of the WWII career of Dwight Eisenhower (Robert Duvall), based partially on the controversial memoir of his driver and confidante Kay Summersby (Lee Remick). Roosevelt: Stephen Roberts. Patton: Darren McGavin. Montgomery: Ian Richardson.

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Ike: the war years (1979), directed by boris sagal / melville shavelson.

• AllMovie Rating 8
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Robert Duvall (Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower) Lee Remick (Kay Summersby) Dana Andrews (Gen. George C. Marshall) J.D. Cannon (Gen. Walter Bedell Smith) Paul Gleason (Capt. Ernest 'Tex' Lee) Darren McGavin (Gen. George S. Patton) Wensley Pithey (Winston Churchill) Ian Richardson (Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery) Stephen Roberts (President Franklin Delano Roosevelt) William Schallert (Gen. Mark Clark) Vincent Marzello (Mickey McKeogh) Major Wiley (Sgt. Moaney) Bonnie Bartlett (Mamie Eisenhower) Vernon Dobtcheff (Gen. Charles DeGaulle) Richard Herd (Gen. Omar Bradley) David de Keyser (Field Marshall Sir Alan Brooke) Francis Matthews (Noel Coward) Patricia Michael (Gertrude Lawrence)

Melville Shavelson, Kay Summersby

Miniseries detailing the life of Dwight D. Eisenhower, who commanded American forces during World War II, romanced his driver Kay Summersby and later became President of the United States.

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IKE: THE WAR YEARS

During World War II, General Dwight D. Eisenhower serves as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe. On a personal level, he has an extramarital affair with his driver Kay Summersby.

• Movie - Ike:The War Years - 1980

Ike:The War Years  (1980)  آيك: سنوات الحرب

• 291 minutes
• Release Date: 24 May 1980 (France) (more)
• Genre: Biography (more)

General Dwight D. Eisenhower gets appointed as commander of the Allied Forces, which is going to liberate France from the Nazi occupiers during World War II. The forces invaded France from the coast ...Read more of Normandy in the largest invasion in history, with the help of the French resistance from within, led by General de Gaulle. Afterward, he becomes appointed as commander of the forces that liberated Germany from the Nazis.

• Boris Sagal (Director)
• Melville Shavelson ()
• Melville Shavelson (Writer)
• Dana Andrews
• Robert Duvall
• Paul Gleason
• J.D. Cannon
• Darren McGavin

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• Ian Richardson

• William Schallert

• Bonnie Bartlett

• Richard Herd
• Laurence Luckinbill

General Dwight D. Eisenhower gets appointed as commander of the Allied Forces, which is going to liberate France from the Nazi occupiers during World War II. The forces invaded ...Read more France from the coast of Normandy in the largest invasion in history, with the help of the French resistance from within, led by General de Gaulle. Afterward, he becomes appointed as commander of the forces that liberated Germany from the Nazis.

• Release Date:
• France [ 24 May 1980 ]
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1979 Directed by Melville Shavelson , Boris Sagal

Eisenhower the military man is the focus of this mini-series, his relationships with the other wartime leaders, and, very discreetly, his personal relationship with his driver, Kay Summersby.

Robert Duvall Lee Remick Dana Andrews J.D. Cannon Paul Gleason Laurence Luckinbill Darren McGavin Wensley Pithey Ian Richardson Stephen Roberts William Schallert Wolfgang Preiss Bonnie Bartlett Charles H. Gray Lowell Thomas Vernon Dobtcheff Richard Herd K Callan Terence Alexander Charles Gray Clifton Jones Michael Malnick Vincent Marzello Francis Matthews Patricia Michael Major Wiley Jonathan Banks William Boyett Anne Clements Show All… Patrick Culliton David de Keyser Clifford Earl Don Fellows Mitchell Group Lise Hilboldt Peter Hobbs Ronald Leigh-Hunt James Keane Julia McKenzie Richard McKenzie Maurice Marsac Joe Unger Lloyd Alan Redmond Gleeson Robert James Joe Altieri William Glover

Directors Directors

Melville Shavelson Boris Sagal

Producer Producer

Bill McCutchen

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Melville Shavelson

Writer Writer

Original writer original writer.

Kay Summersby Morgan

Editors Editors

Bill Lenny John Woodcock Kent Schafer

Cinematography Cinematography

Freddie Young Archie R. Dalzell

Art Direction Art Direction

Peter Murton Ward Preston

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Rick Simpson

Choreography Choreography

Marge Champion Miriam Nelson

Composer Composer

Fred Karlin

ABC Circle Films

Alternative Titles

Ike: The War Years, Ike, l'épopée d'un héros

Drama War History TV Movie

Releases by Date

03 may 1979, releases by country.

360 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by loureviews ★★★½

The films of Dana Andrews #77

This is Robert Duvall's show, as Dwight Eisenhower, soldier and future US President, and this is a ponderous and talky mini-series with some great acting on the fringes. It's a pity the print showing on TV is so poor in picture and sound.

Francis Matthews crops up as Noel Coward, Dana Andrews is General George C Marshall, Ian Richardson is Montgomery, and Julia McKenzie fills out a small role as do other British luminaries such as Terence Alexander, Charles Gray, Ronald Leigh-Hunt, and Vernon Dobtcheff.

A bit of a mis-step having Lee Remick as Ike's bit on the side, but these series have to have a sense of wide appeal, and a dash of romance is never unwelcome even in a war picture.

Review by giancarlo ★★

Fuck this movie

Review by Sarah ★★

So. Fucking. Boring.

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Ike: The War Years (1979)

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The first ‘the acolyte’ controversy is absurd, even for ‘star wars’ fans.

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The Acolyte

The Acolyte has received both its first trailer and release date , as the new Star Wars project will arrive rather soon on June 4, 2024. The trailer showed off what essentially seems to be a Sith serial killer, hunting down Jedi in an effort to fix an imbalance of power between force users. And there may be some amount of revenge in there too for all we know.

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Whatever you expect from an Alex Garland movie, he always gives you something else."Civil War" is something else again. It premiered in the US hours before I published this and it's already divisive. I look forward to reading all of the arguments for and against, even though both early raves and pans seem to be operating under the reductive assumption that it's one of three things: (1) an alternative future history of a divided United States that's intended as a cautionary tale; (2) a technically proficient but empty-headed misery porn compendium that derives much of its power from images redolent of genocide and/or lynching, but ducks political specifics so as not to offend reactionaries; or (3) a visionary spectacular with ultra-violence that might or might not have something important to say but will definitely look and sound great on an expensive home entertainment system.

As it turns out, "Civil War" is mainly something else: a thought experiment about journalistic ethics, set in a future United States, yet reminiscent of classic movies about Western journalists covering the collapse of foreign countries, such as " The Year of Living Dangerously ," " Salvador ," " Under Fire ," and " Welcome to Sarajevo ." 

How utterly bizarre, you might think. And in the abstract, it is bizarre. But "Civil War" is a furiously convincing and disturbing thing when you're watching it. It's a great movie that has its own life force. It's not like anything Garland has made. It's not like anything anyone has made, even though it contains echoes of dozens of other films (and novels) that appear to have fed the filmmaker's imagination.

Specifically, and most originally, "Civil War" is a portrait of the mentality of pure reporters, the types of people who are less interested in explaining what things "mean" (in the manner of an editorial writer or "pundit") than in getting the scoop before the competition, by any means necessary. Whether the scoop takes the form of a written story, a TV news segment, or a still photo that wins a Pulitzer, the quest for the scoop is an end unto itself, and it's bound up with the massive dopamine hit that that comes from putting oneself in harm's way. The kinds of obsessive war correspondents who rarely come back to their own countries don't care about the real-world impact of the political realities encoded within the epic violence they chronicle, or else compartmentalize it to stay focused.  

The main characters of "Civil War" are four journalists. The film introduces them covering a clash in New York City between what appear to be police forces from the official government and violent members of the opposition (we have to infer a lot because Garland drops you right into the deep end, as Haskell Wexler did in " Medium Cool ," about a news cameraman covering the 1968 protests in Chicago). Kirsten Dunst plays Lee, a legendary white female photojournalist in the mold of her namesake Lee Miller. She's partnered with a South American-born reporter named Joel ( Wagner Moura ). Both work for Reuters news agency and are fond of Sammy (veteran character actor  Stephen McKinley Henderson ), an older African-American journalist who writes for “what’s left of the New York Times ,” as Joel puts it; he walks slowly on a cane, definitely a liability when covering protests and battles. 

The group gains a fourth member, Jessie ( Cailee Spaeny , the title character of " Priscilla "), a kind of junior version of Lee who idolizes her. Jessie charms the hard-drinking, on-the-prowl Joel and ends up joining the trio as they drive to Washington, D.C. in hopes of interviewing the president ( Nick Offerman ) before he surrenders to the military forces of something called the WA, or Western Alliance. The WA consists of militias from California and Texas (with secondary support from Florida, which is apparently a different separatist group that shares the WA's values). 

The first full-length trailer for "Civil War" got picked apart as if it were the movie itself rather than an advertisement for it (a weird regular occurrence in "film discourse," such as it is). But the actual movie turns out to be more politically astute and plausible than early reactions said, even though it's likely that Garland's "you already know the story" approach (like the way the overall arc of the US occupation of Vietnam was depicted in " Full Metal Jacket ") will seem to validate the gripes for the first hour. Yes, it's true, Texas votes Republican in national elections and California votes Democratic, but as of this writing, Northern California is  increasingly controlled by libertarian-influenced tech billionaires , and much of central and eastern California leans Republican and loathes California Democrats so much that they've advocated " divid(ing) parts of coastal California, including the Bay Area, from California to become an independent country." The president is referred to as a fascist. I’m not sure how literally we’re supposed to take that because both Trump and Biden have been called that by people who don’t like them.

But if you had to make a list of what "Civil War" is trying to do, "diagnosing what ails the United States of America" might not crack the Top 5. Yes, if you wanted to treat the movie so reductively, you could. But if you pay attention to what the movie is actually doing rather than cherry picking elements that validate whatever take you brought in with you, it won't be easy. I went into "Civil War" with arms folded, expecting to hate it, because so many contemporary films about US politics by foreign filmmakers seem to have cribbed their worldview from New York Times editorials and bad Tweets. It upended my preconceived notions.

As far as "future shock" goes, Garland, an Englishman, isn't cynically avoiding specifics or talking out of his behind. He's burying the text under subtext, in the name of creating a compelling but credible experience, until said text explodes through the screen via Jesse Plemons , who has a cameo as a soldier who might or might not be a Western Front officer but is surely a parasite on the remnants of the body politic. This soft-voiced, smirky hellion interrogates the terrified group of journalists (which consists of two white women, a native-born Black man, and a South American emigre, plus an Asian-American and a Chinese immigrant who joined them on the road) with all the delicacy of Gene Hackman's racist white cop Popeye Doyle terrorizing Black people in " The French Connection " for kicks.

A terse line of dialogue reveals that Lee became famous for taking a prize-winning photo of something called the "Antifa massacre" when Jessie was very young. "Antifa massacre" is initially tossed off in a way that makes you wonder if Garland is hoping progressives will assume it was anti-fascists who were murdered by reactionaries, but reactionaries will assume it was the reverse. Thanks to Plemons' demonic showstopper and the thunderous, ultimately chilling finale (set during the attempted coup in Washington) I think it's clear what happened. But your mileage will vary.

Nevertheless, these characters aren't constantly exposition-ing to each other and explaining the world to the viewer because that's not what people would do in real life, whether they were trying to survive mass extinction in Gaza or Ukraine or endure a military dictatorship in Argentina or Myanmar. Indeed, one of the most fascinating (or if you don't like it, perplexing) aspects of "Civil War" is that it often plays like an artifact warped into our world from some future popular culture that has decided it's finally time for a "big statement" movie in the vein of " Apocalypse Now " or "Full Metal Jacket," but for people who remember an American Civil War and have enough perspective to consider buying a ticket to a blockbuster about it.

Garland is known as mainly a science fiction storyteller. He wrote "28 Days Later," "Sunshine" and "Dredd," adapted " Never Let Me Go " from Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, and wrote and directed " Ex Machina " and " Annihilation ," all of which had an intense and believable physicality on top of dealing in metaphors and visceral experiences. (He also did the gender essentialist horror flick " Men ," which some people defend but that I consider his only failure.) "Civil War" isn't science fiction, exactly, nor could it be described mainly as "speculative fiction," although it falls under that umbrella. The world-building is masterful. But the world-building is not the movie. 

I appreciated it as a story about journalists whose own country is cratering but who keep chasing the story and are determined to catch it even if it kills them. Would they have embedded themselves with Hitler's army if they'd somehow survived behind enemy lines in Germany in the 1940s and been given the opportunity? I wouldn't rule it out. They will probably come across as unlikable, or at least off-putting, to most viewers—the New York Times and other supposedly "neutral" mainstream outlets have come under fire in recent years for seeming to give the rise of American fascism the "both sides" treatment, and when their reporters are called out, they often say that their only duty is to tell the story. Certain members of certain professions have that code. Other members disagree. Both factions are represented in "Civil War," but in a fictionalized context that asks "Is the storyteller's highest obligation to tell what happened or choose a side?" and then lets the audience fight over the answer. A case could be made that the title is not just about the civil war in the future US, but within contemporary journalism. 

I've purposefully avoided describing a lot of the story in this review because I want people to go in cold, as I did, and experience the movie as sort of picaresque narrative consisting of set pieces that test the characters morally and ethically as well as physically, from one day and one moment to the next. Suffice to say that the final section brings every thematic element together in a perfectly horrifying fashion and ends with a moment of self-actualization I don't think I'll ever be able to shake. 

This review was filed from the SXSW Film Festival. It opens on April 12th.

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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Civil War (2024)

109 minutes

Kirsten Dunst as Ellie

Wagner Moura as Joel

Cailee Spaeny as Jesse

Stephen McKinley Henderson as Sammy

Jesse Plemons

Nick Offerman as President

Karl Glusman

Sonoya Mizuno

Jefferson White

• Alex Garland

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8 Reasons Reviews For A24's New Dystopian War Movie Are So Good

• Civil War is genuinely unsettling, not shying away from the savagery of war, making it a difficult watch.
• The movie delves deep into potent themes, highlighting the importance of journalism and a free press element.
• Civil War's premise feels frighteningly possible, showcasing an America that hits close to home for viewers.

The latest provocative drama from A24, Alex Garland's Civil War , has already begun to receive high praise from some of the industry's top critics, and has led to an uncommonly high Rotten Tomatoes score . Garland acts as both writer and director on Civil War , and the movie's success follows a familiar pattern for the filmmaker who made his auspicious debut with the groundbreaking horror classic 28 Days Later all the way back in 2002. Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura and Cailee Spaeny headline the cast as a group of journalists traveling through the newly war-torn America.

The war epic will mark A24's most expensive project to date, making Civil War a $50M gamble with more significant risk tied to it than A24's typical low-budget successes. Word-of-mouth should all but eliminate any concerns about Civil War 's profitability, as early critic reviews after the film's debut at SXSW are almost universally positive. Despite the larger budget, critics seem to agree that Civil War holds on to most of the elite filmmaking elements that define A24 films, thanks in large part to Alex Garland's work with the script and direction.

Civil War Is Genuinely Unsettling

The movie doesn't shy away from the savagery of war..

While critics across the board are effusive in their praise of Civil War , they all make it clear that while it's not a war movie in the traditional sense, the imagery and violence is just as difficult to watch as something like Hacksaw Ridge or Saving Private Ryan . Matt Donato of Collider noted in his review that " Garland may have just delivered one of the most vicious and unrelenting watches of the year." The fact that the movie places the violence on American soil as opposed to a far-off desert or jungle makes it even more haunting.

Civil War is set to release in theaters on April 12th, 2024.

Civil War Contains Potent Themes

It's far deeper than a run-of-the-mill action movie..

While Civil War certainly includes plenty of action, the thematic depth of Civil War is what critics are responding to most. Matthew Jackson of the AV Club said in his review that Garland showcases, " The importance of a free press willing to do the hard work, get deep into the blood and guts, and document the reality of the moment. " While it doesn't delve into the politics of the conflict, it makes it clear how important journalism and a free press element is to preventing the future depicted in Civil War, while also questioning journalistic ethics as a whole.

Civil War's Premise Seems Frighteningly Possible

The narrative remains disturbingly close to reality..

Rocco T. Thompson of Slant summarized one of the eeriest elements of Civil War in his review, saying that, " The scariest part of writer-director Alex Garland’s Civil War is how normal it all feels. " Civil War makes sure that the America it shows is terrifyingly close to the one in which the audience lives. Critics are applauding the film for never venturing too far away from what seems possible, especially in a world where an insurrection in the nation's capital is possible and snipers on rooftops are commonplace, not the stuff of far-off fiction.

Civil War Asks Questions That Spark Debate

The movie inspires necessary conversation..

Critics are in agreement that Civil War will stick with viewers long after they leave the theater, and will force them to ask questions that don't have a comfortable answer. David Crow of Den of Geek notes that, " The picture will be debated in news columns, dismissed by talking heads on cable, and reviled by some quarters of social media ." Its powerful imagery and difficult-to-watch action will likely be controversial in some circles, which is not something that should be avoided. The conversation won't end when the theater lights flicker back on, which is a rare feat in modern cinema.

A24's Civil War Rotten Tomatoes Score Is A Big Relief After This Movie From 2 Years Ago

Alex garland's direction is precise and powerful, garland's immersive direction consumes viewers..

Alex Garland has established himself as one of the premier filmmakers when it comes to precision direction, as evidenced by his thought-provoking and visually intoxicating films Ex Machina and Annihilation . Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting stated in her review that, " Stunning compositions, breathtaking visual flourishes, and tactile details further highlight the diseased sense of beauty to Civil War. " Critics applauded Garland's use of handheld camera work that bring a realism and dynamism to the action sequences, and make for a more immersive experience. Critics are in agreement that Garland is at his very best as a director in Civil War .

Civil War Balances Blockbuster Action With Intimacy

Elements of a war epic blend seamlessly with the subtleties of individual experience..

Perri Nemiroff claimed in her review that Civil War is "... an epic but deeply intimate piece, " a sentiment which was echoed by many critics. Some of the most impactful scenes in Civil War are one-on-one conversations, or interactions between small groups of individuals. Those are juxtaposed with sweeping epic war sequences and high-octane battle scenes to create something unique and powerful, especially in the current sociopolitical climate. Judging by the early reviews, Civil War is able to deftly move between character-driven scenes and large-scale action to create an engrossing narrative.

Civil War Is A Visual Spectacle

While the canvas might be bleak, the visuals are awe-inspiring..

As dark and unsettling as the subject is, critics agree that it's a visual masterpiece on multiple levels. Siddhant Adlakha of Inverse eloquently summarized the sentiment that seems to be mutual among the critics who rated the film positively, calling the movie, " an upsetting sensory experience accompanied by thundering cacophonies and paralyzing scenes of war and savagery so vast, intense, and overwhelming that you can practically taste the gunpowder lingering in the air. " While Civil War 's overarching narrative and message is heavy, the visuals at play are undoubtedly worthy of the big screen.

Civil War's Cast Is Excellent

Kirsten dunst leads a talented cast..

As engaging as the script itself is, critics agree that the cast of Civil War deserves just as much praise. Chase Hutchinson of TheWrap notes that the movie's lead Kirsten Dunst, " has always done great work this is up there as one of her most focused performances. " Kevin L. Lee of AwardsWatch singled out the film's youngest star Cailee Spaeny in his review, saying, " Whether it is from quiet dialogue delivery or even a hauntingly blank facial expression, Spaeny gives a performance you can’t take your eyes off of. " The talented cast helps elevate Civil War 's already captivating story.

Civil War is a 2024 action thriller from writer and director Alex Garland. Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson, Civil War takes place in the near future and shows the United States entering a new Civil War after California and Texas attempt to separate from the country.

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Civil War First Reviews: Haunting, Thought-Provoking, and Probably Not What You Think It Is

Critics at sxsw say alex garland's latest film is a gorgeously shot cautionary tale full of big ideas and a fantastic performance by kirsten dunst, but it may surprise some viewers..

TAGGED AS: First Reviews , movies , SXSW , thriller

Alex Garland ‘s movies always get people talking, and his latest has critics both raving and reproaching. Following the premiere of Civil War at the SXSW Film Festival this week, initial reviews are praising the beauty and intensity of the dystopian drama while also noting its potential for controversy and disappointment due to the effectiveness of its messaging. Kirsten Dunst stars in the thriller as a photojournalist covering the near-future disunion of the United States, and her performance is receiving attention in reviews both positive and negative, adding to the fact that Civil War might be a film you just have to see for yourself.

Here’s what critics are saying about Civil War :

How does this compare to Alex Garland’s other films?

It’s the most upsetting dystopian vision yet from the sci-fi brain that killed off all of London for the zombie uprising depicted in 28 Days Later . — Peter Debruge, Variety

This may be his most restrained and introspective work since his razor-edged and gossamer-delicate script for 2010’s Never Let Me Go , but that’s not sitting at odds with the material. — Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle

This film might be the largest that Garland has worked on, but he hasn’t lost his talent for keeping his audience off-balance. — David Sims, The Atlantic

It’s a return to form for its director after the misstep of Men . — Katie Rife, IndieWire

It isn’t Garland’s best film by any means, but it is his most unexpectedly interesting. — Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

He’s never less than 100-percent thought-provoking. This time out, however, it’s hard not to occasionally feel that the second word of that descriptive is being favored at the expense of the first. — David Fear, Rolling Stone

As was true in Men , Garland’s epiphany feels shallow, as if delivered from an outsider looking in. — Kristy Puchko, Mashable

On its surface, Civil War is intellectually barren compared to Garland’s previous work. — Robert Daniels, Screen International

(Photo by ©A24)

Is it a difficult movie to watch?

It can’t be easily consumed as entertainment. — Peter Debruge, Variety

It would be wholly admirable if it weren’t so hard to take in… Civil War is a tough watch. — Robert Daniels, Screen International

Civil War is an overwhelming experience. — Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Unsettling… haunting. — Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

There’s nothing fun about this film. It has some darkly surreal moments, sure. Maybe even a barking, joyless laugh or two. But it’s not fun . — Katie Rife, IndieWire

Should you come into Civil War looking for left-wing jingoism and/or alt-right paranoia, we wish you good luck and godspeed. Ditto cold comfort, catharsis, and/or cheap thrills. — David Fear, Rolling Stone

There is a good chance that those looking for straight action will feel disconnected from it, but that increasingly proves to be the point. As Garland captures the intense violence and death with his own camera, there is a coldness to it that almost feels dehumanizing. — Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

For as inured as we’ve become to images of death and displacement in other first-world countries, Civil War enflames our discomfort by bringing the conflict to our own backyard. — Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

So it won’t be for everyone?

A provocative shock to the system, Civil War is designed to be divisive. Ironically, it’s also meant to bring folks together. — Peter Debruge, Variety

The why of the war is not the point, and as such Garland keeps politics out of it. (Perhaps that also helps avoid polarizing could-be movie-goers?) — Kristy Puchko, Mashable

The controversial subject matter will no doubt drive ticket sales… Your mileage will vary on how much violence you can consume; you could throw plenty of literal trigger warnings at Civil War . — Robert Daniels, Screen International

Those looking to Civil War for neat ideologies will leave disappointed. — Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

The political commentary is less of a conversation and more of a Rorschach test. — Kate Sánchez, But Why Tho? A Geek Community

But should everyone see it anyway?

Civil War is the movie event of the year — and the post-movie group discussion of your lifetime. — Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

Civil War seems like the kind of movie people will mostly talk about for all the wrong reasons, and without seeing it first. It isn’t what those people will think it is. It’s something better, more timely, and more thrilling. — Tasha Robinson, Polygon

Showing America the risks of in-fighting and the potential costs of division… Civil War is a cautionary tale. — Peter Debruge, Variety

With this latest film, he sounds the alarm, wondering less about how a country walks blindly into its own destruction and more about what happens when it does. — Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

We’re bearing witness to an exacting recreation of historical events that haven’t actually happened. And we, the audience from this reality, are asked to take it all as a warning. This is the movie that gets made if we don’t fix our s–t. — Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

Despite its ambitious premise and high-caliber cast, the movie stands as a muddled reflection, ultimately rendering its cautionary tale less impactful than intended. — Valerie Complex, Deadline Hollywood Daily

How will it make us feel in the end?

As statements go, his powerful vision leaves us shaken. — Peter Debruge, Variety

It will indeed chill you to the bone. — David Fear, Rolling Stone

This is a film intent on shaking you into shock and awe… until you are as desensitized as these reporters. — Robert Daniels, Screen International

I left the theater quite exhilarated. — David Sims, The Atlantic

For better and a whole lot worse, we are going to talk about this movie for the rest of the year — and into the 2025 award season for good measure. — Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

How is Kirsten Dunst?

Audiences have never seen Dunst like this. — Peter Debruge, Variety

While she has always done great work this is up there as one of her most focused performances. — Chase Hutchinson, The Wrap

Dunst is sensational in the role, which could have felt stiff in the hands of a lesser actor. — Kristy Puchko, Mashable

A transcendent performance. — Robert Daniels, Screen International

Dunst doesn’t round Lee out but hollows her out. — Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle

Dunst makes Lee an incredibly compelling figure whose faith and ability to stomach the demands of the job unravel slowly over the course of the film. — Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

How does the movie look?

It’s a particularly gorgeous drama… The movie in general seems designed to impress viewers on a visual level. — Tasha Robinson, Polygon

For Garland’s part, he and DoP Rob Hardy have crafted a discomfitingly gorgeous film. — Robert Daniels, Screen International

If the film asks much of its audience in terms of narrative, it at least has the good grace to look damn good while doing so. — Matthew Monagle, The Playlist

Civil War is A24’s most expensive production, and it shows. Garland’s rendering of the war-torn suburban US is a fascinating mix of beautiful and horrifying. — Adrian Horton, Guardian

Garland’s camera recognizes the unusual beauty and surreality that can accompany images of tremendous stress and terror. — Jacob Hall, Slashfilm

Most of the movie takes place in broad daylight, not at all the aesthetic audiences expect from a modern-day war movie. — Peter Debruge, Variety

Scenes of America as an active war zone are some of Civil War’ s most potent images. In a subversive move, Garland, partnering again with DP Rob Hardy, documents these conditions with the distant vérité style found in American films about international regional conflicts. — Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

Garland’s distinctive technical style shines through. — Valerie Complex, Deadline Hollywood Daily

Any other parting criticisms?

Garland has always been a director of big ideas, and Civil War is no exception when it comes to that ambitiousness. But he’s also reaching for an intimacy here that his screenplay doesn’t quite deliver on. — Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

The film’s execution, hampered by thin characterization, a lackluster narrative, and an overreliance on spectacle over substance, left me disengaged. — Valerie Complex, Deadline Hollywood Daily

The film overall lacks focus. — Kristy Puchko, Mashable

Civil War gives little to hold on to on the level of character or world-building, which leaves us with effective but limited visual provocation. — Adrian Horton, Guardian

The core of Civil War feels hollow. — Robert Daniels, Screen International

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The First ‘Civil War’ Reviews Are Blown Away By Alex Garland’s Shockingly Real War Movie That’s Nothing Like You’d Expect

When the first trailer dropped for Civil War , the latest film from Ex Machina and Men director Alex Garland , there were a lot of jokes about the seemingly ridiculous premise that California and Texas would ever band together to fight the United States government. Would you believe Garland pulled it off?

As the early reviews pile in after Civil War made its SXSW premiere, one thing has become abundantly clear: The film is not at all what people are expecting.

Civil War is focused less on how its titular conflict broke out and more on how a group of journalists engage with the reality of a modern-day war breaking out on American soil. Thanks to some visceral scenes that builds to a massive action sequence in the nation’s capital, the experience of Civil War surprisingly works.

You can see what the critics are saying below:

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter :

With the precision and length of its violent battle sequences, it’s clear Civil War operates as a clarion call. Garland wrote the film in 2020 as he watched cogs on America’s self-mythologizing exceptionalist machine turn, propelling the nation into a nightmare. With this latest film, he sounds the alarm, wondering less about how a country walks blindly into its own destruction and more about what happens when it does.

Peter Debruge, Variety :

Intended as a wake-up call, the long-fuse thriller — which starts slow and snowballs to a jaw-dropping raid on Washington, D.C. — embeds viewers alongside a dedicated team of journalists making their way to the Capitol while the country unravels around them. It’s the most upsetting dystopian vision yet from the sci-fi brain that killed off all of London for the zombie uprising depicted in “28 Days Later,” and one that can’t be easily consumed as entertainment. A provocative shock to the system, “Civil War” is designed to be divisive.

David Fear, Rolling Stone :

Alex Garland’s Civil War faces this what-if concept head on, imagining a future so very not-so-distant that you might accidentally mistake it for the present, in which the USA is once more at war against itself. The premise is a perfect opportunity to take a cold, hard, genre-inflected look at the American experiment’s current slouching toward self-destruction — the only question is whether Garland’s wild potboiler wants to explore or exploit our state of the nation, and the jury’s still out on that.

Tasha Robinson, Polygon :

It’s almost perverse how little Civil War reveals about the sides of the central conflict, or the causes or crises that led to war. (Viewers who show up expecting an action movie that confirms their own political biases and demonizes their opponents are going to leave especially confused about what they just watched.) This isn’t a story about the causes or strategies of American civil war: It’s a personal story about the hows and whys of war journalism — and how the field changes for someone covering a war in their homeland instead of on foreign turf.

Katie Rife, IndieWire :

In real life, America is growing crueler and more divided by the day, and the social fabric of the country is disintegrating along with its infrastructure. But “Civil War” isn’t a plea for empathy, or even civility. It simply follows this trend to its logical end point, which is a country where militiamen with automatic weapons shoot strangers on sight and torture their old high school classmates in the burned-out shells of abandoned car washes. Everyone who isn’t directly affected by the violence pretends it isn’t happening, in the name of “stay[ing] out” of politics — a stance that the film condemns more strongly than any.

Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com :

The movie is about journalists whose own country is cratering but who keep chasing the story and are determined to catch it even if it kills them. Would they have embedded themselves with Hitler’s army if they’d somehow survived behind enemy lines in Germany in the 1940s and been given the opportunity? I wouldn’t rule it out. They will probably come across as unlikable, or at least off-putting, to most viewers—the New York Times and other supposedly “neutral” mainstream outlets have come under fire in recent years for seeming to give the rise of American fascism the “both sides” treatment, and when their reporters are called out, they often say that their only duty is to tell the story. Certain members of certain professions have that code. Other members disagree. Both factions are represented in “Civil War,” but in a fictionalized context that asks “Is the storyteller’s highest obligation to tell what happened or choose a side?” and then lets the audience fight over the answer.

Civil War breaks out in theaters on April 12.

Screen Rant

When is the acolyte set in the star wars timeline.

The Acolyte will introduce viewers to a whole new part of the Star Wars timeline - but how does this next Disney+ TV show fit with the Skywalker saga?

• "The Acolyte" explores a new era in Star Wars, set 100 years before "The Phantom Menace".
• The High Republic Era depicts a time when the Jedi were more involved in the galaxy's affairs.
• This series will shed light on the end of the High Republic and the fall of the Jedi.

Star Wars: The Acolyte is introducing viewers to a whole new part of the Star Wars timeline. Star Wars has always had a habit of hopping around the timeline, with the many Star Wars movies and TV shows charting the Skywalker saga out of order. But The Acolyte is boldly going where the franchise has never gone before - at least on-screen.

Viewers who watched The Acolyte 's trailer will immediately have realized this is a part of the Star Wars timeline they've never seen before. This is a time when the Jedi Order was at its height, and the Sith operated in the shadows. But how does it fit with the Skywalker saga?

The Acolyte Is Set 100 Years Before The Phantom Menace

Star Wars: The Acolyte is set at the end of the High Republic Era , the golden age of the Jedi Order and the High Republic. It's roughly 100 years before Star Wars: The Phantom Menace , which showed the Jedi in retreat from the galaxy, bound by the Senate's politics and the whims of the chancellor. At the time of The Acolyte , the Jedi were less centralized, more willing - even eager - to involve themselves in the affairs of ordinary citizens.

The Acolyte's High Republic Setting Explained

The High Republic Era began roughly 500 years before the Skywalker saga, and there are subtle hints in Ahsoka that the Jedi of that time went through some sort of reformation. This was the beginning of an age of exploration, with the Jedi and the Republic partnering in missions to chart more of the Star Wars galaxy map , pushing on into the Outer Rim. The Jedi did not go unopposed; as seen in Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The High Republic transmedia initiative, they collided with ancient allies of the Sith and space pirates who resented the Republic's expansion.

Star Wars: The High Republic Phase III is expected to end 199 years before the Skywalker saga, meaning The Acolyte is just under a century later. This is a part of the Star Wars timeline that has never been seen before, and it surely means The Acolyte will show why the High Republic ended and the Jedi truly fell. This is essentially a prequel to the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and it is so very fitting that the latest Disney+ TV show will release alongside the 25th anniversary celebrations for Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace .

All Star Wars movies & TV shows can be seen on Disney+.

The Acolyte

The Acolyte is a television series set in the Star Wars universe at the end of the High Republic Era, where both the Jedi and the Galactic Empire were at the height of their influence. This sci-fi thriller sees a former Padawan reunite with her former Jedi Master as they investigate several crimes - all leading to darkness erupting from beneath the surface and preparing to bring about the end of the High Republic.

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• 'The Hurt Locker' and America's Fading Memory of the Iraq War

In 2009, director Kathryn Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker" -- an Iraq War action thriller following the deployment of a U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal unit under an increasingly erratic new team leader -- hit theaters to critical fanfare. Legendary film critic Roger Ebert called it "the second-best film of the decade" (behind "Synecdoche, New York"), while New York Times critic A.O. Scott dubbed it "the best non-documentary American feature made yet about the war in Iraq." Academy Awards voters agreed: The film would go on to win Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, among other awards.

The only problem was that veterans of the Iraq War hated it. Despite the fact that screenwriter Mark Boal had embedded for two weeks with EOD units in Iraq in 2004, the consensus among veterans was that "The Hurt Locker" distorted the war and the stories of U.S. service members who fought it, in favor of making a dramatic action movie. They called the plot " nonsensical " and the way its soldiers operate " absurd ." One real-life EOD soldier who deployed to Iraq declared the portrayal of his occupation " grossly exaggerated and not appropriate ."

That a film beloved by the broader American culture might feel so removed from the reality of the war it sought to chronicle might feel vexing. But 15 years after "The Hurt Locker's" release, its reception is very much an apt analogy for how Americans remember the Iraq War. Or more to the point: that they don't really remember the war at all.

Part of the disconnect is a matter of demographics: There just aren't that many veterans in relation to the greater population, one largely untouched by America's ongoing conflicts. Less than one-half of 1% of Americans currently serve in the military, a figure that has remained largely unchanged since 2003 , when the Iraq War began. Over the course of that war, only 1.5 million would deploy to Iraq.

These numbers highlight the gulf between those who actually experienced the war and those who will only know it from the perception of popular media -- and as time goes on, that gulf only grows. Indeed, a 2023 survey conducted on the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War found that roughly only 21% of Americans feel the war changed their lives, while the vast majority feel the Iraq War is largely invisible and out of mind.

Not all depictions of the Iraq War fall into the same trap as "The Hurt Locker"; in fact, television stayed faithful to the realities of the war from its earliest days. In July 2005, producer Steven Bochco ( "NYPD Blue," "Hill Street Blues") developed "Over There," a series about the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division on its first tour in Iraq. It was the first scripted television series to dramatize a contemporary ongoing conflict that involved U.S. troops. Although critics universally slammed it for being apolitical, the language and violence depicted on screen pulled no punches about the reality of the war. It was not the true-life personal story needed to connect with audiences, but it broke the ground for more.

Three years later, HBO and the minds who brought us "The Wire" released the miniseries "Generation Kill." Based on Rolling Stone writer Evan Wright's book of the same name, it followed Wright's own experience with the U.S. Marine Corps during the Invasion of Iraq in 2003. The highly lauded and often-quoted series was well-received by critics and Marines for its realistic depictions -- not just of the war, but of life as a Marine in wartime.

In 2017, another book by an embedded journalist was turned into a limited series, this time ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz's 2007 book "The Long Road Home: A Story of War and Family." NatGeo shortened the title to "The Long Road Home," but the story of the 1st Cavalry Division during the April 2004 Siege of Sadr City remained intact. It made compelling television while telling a very real story about real people at war.

In contrast to its small-screen successes, Iraq War movies have proven more plentiful over time, but their faithfulness to source material oscillates widely. Films such as 2009's "Taking Chance" (based on a blog written by Marine Corps officer Michael Strobl) and 2017's "Thank You For Your Service" (based on journalist David Finkel's book of the same name) are good, because their characters are good and the hardships they face are relatable.

There are also, of course, the wild depictions that only exist to sell popcorn. The 2010 film "Green Zone" is based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran's nonfiction book "Imperial Life in the Emerald City," which details life in the Coalition Provisional Authority after the invasion of Iraq. The movie's plot just happened to be entirely fictional, and the war it depicted was unrealistic. By the time "Green Zone" began production, the identity of Curveball, the informant who supplied WMD intelligence to the U.S. and its allies, was already well-known . For a film trying to make a statement about weapons of mass destruction, the lie on which the war was sold, such a heavy lift would have been better served with the real story.

Historical and military accuracy doesn't automatically make a good movie, as critics, audiences and even veterans will admit. The 2017 film "Sand Castle" was written by Iraq veteran Chris Roessner and based on his experiences, but it received mixed reviews at best. That same year, Army veteran Kevin Powers' book "The Yellow Birds" was turned into a film The New York Times described as " humdrum ."

For veterans, the effort made in a faithful retelling is an acknowledgment of their service and sacrifices, an effort that goes beyond a verbal "thank you for your service." It's important because movies and TV shows will, eventually, become this country's enduring cultural memory of its most important events.

At the end of the day, people connect with what they know from their own experiences. The most successful and true-to-life stories about the war in Iraq come from personal stories, related by individuals or small units. These kinds of stories either come from veterans themselves, journalists who embedded with troops or from thoughtful producers who carefully adapt those stories for the screen. Audiences may not relate to the life of U.S. troops at war, but they can relate to more universal themes such as friendship, love and family (either at work or at home).

"The Hurt Locker" became (and endures as) a target of veterans' ire, because it's arguably the most popular and memorable movie set in the Iraq War, and it isn't a bad action movie -- so long as the audience doesn't know everything the characters are doing is wrong. There is no "Platoon" for the Iraq War veteran experience, and Quentin Tarantino has yet to write an alt-history of the war where America finds WMDs and successfully installs democracy, but there are stories worthy of a faithful retelling.

Perhaps most importantly, there is no Gettysburg Address to remind American veterans that the world will never forget what they did in Iraq. Instead, they have movies such as "The Hurt Locker," a shiny trophy the world will little note, nor long remember. For veterans of the conflict, the film and its mainstream success is a constant reminder that most Americans didn't fully understand the reality of their war, if they ever knew it at all.

Film and television are art forms that shine a light on our collective memory. Since audiences have no personal connections to Iraq or its veterans, they're left with a hole filled by Hollywood's most popular popcorn movies -- and "The Hurt Locker" leaves only a distorted, exaggerated image of the war and those who fought it.

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Civil War review – Alex Garland’s immersive yet dispassionate war film

The writer-director’s much-anticipated look at the horrors of an America violently divided is an impressive technical feat yet an emotionally cold drama

• ‘We know why it might happen’: Alex Garland’s explosive thriller Civil War premieres

C ivil War, Alex Garland’s hotly anticipated dystopian drama on an America divided by military conflict, knows what we’re looking for. The film opens with the president ( Nick Offerman ) in profile, practicing lines as he prepares to address the nation. His assurances of strength and patriotism are interwoven with seemingly real, recent news footage: a flash of riot gear, police armed like soldiers, masses against shields, two seconds of a body being dragged. Garland, the writer-director behind such modern sci-fi hits as Ex Machina and Annihilation , doesn’t have to show much from 2020 or beyond to get the point across. We’ll fill in the rest.

This is good news for those who feared Civil War would swerve too close to the present election-year polarization for comfort, or wring entertainment out of the beyond oversaturated national presence and specter of Donald Trump. Civil War, which premiered at the SXSW film festival , introduces the connection and then summarily abandons recognizable politics for the dispassionate work of combat journalists in the moral gray area of the war zone. In a year of red-hot tension and fear, Civil War runs cold – decidedly anti-war but firmly unspecific, assiduously avoiding any direct correlation to current politics or, it turns out, any politics at all.

The film begins well into a conflict in which Texas and California are allies in the “Western Front” (Florida is also joining) against the federal government. The three-term president has authorized drone strikes against civilians and disbanded the FBI, we learn in clunky journalist chatter, but this is war: everyone is killing each other. Both sides have a military. There are no discernible ideologies beyond winning. To the protagonists of this film – hard-boiled Lee (an excellent Kirsten Dunst ), adrenaline junkie Joel (Wagner Moura), hotshot newbie Jessie (Priscilla’s Cailee Spaeny) and mentor Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) – there is only work to do, conflict to follow, evidence to capture.

Civil War is just as much road movie as war movie, as the journalists travel from contested New York, where residents scrounge and riot for water, through the eastern US (Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia) to the Western Front’s frontline in Charlottesville and then DC. The goal is to score the last interview with the president in a zone where journalists are, as Sammy says, shot on sight. (“Interviewing him is the only story left,” says Joel, which never makes sense.) As a suspense thriller, Civil War is very successful – Garland has a knack for the choreography of conflict, for tuning up the mutual suspicion of every encounter with a stranger (as both sides use US army fatigues, it’s hard to know who is who, and it doesn’t matter as long as they’re not trying to kill Lee’s convoy). Civil War is A24’s most expensive production, and it shows. Garland’s rendering of the war-torn suburban US is a fascinating mix of beautiful and horrifying – a shellshocked JC Penney’s, bodies hanging from a highway overpass, an abandoned Christmas festival in the summer. Perversions of Americans’ sense of stability, lush and dexterously deployed.

Civil War works on the level of intellectual exercise: a film clear-eyed on the horrors of war and trauma in which journalists are the unsentimental heroes, and which relies on the audience to supply their own assumptions of American politics rather than spoon-feed reality. But the distance makes for an at times frustrating watch – stimulating on the level of adrenaline, not emotions. In part, the internal logic feels off – who’s the audience for these journalists, if there’s no cell service and no one appears to use the internet? Why would these images matter, in a divided future nation that has, I presume, fully lost shared reality? There really aren’t any bleeding hearts in this journalist crew?

It’s true that righteousness matters little to those caught in the violence of war, but Civil War’s strict indifference to motivation rankles a little, considering the very stark ideological divide between political parties today or America’s actual civil war, which was fought over the cut-and-dried issue of slavery and then strategically whitewashed over decades into a tale of “states’ rights”. Garland’s Civil War gives little to hold on to on the level of character or world-building, which leaves us with effective but limited visual provocation – the capital in flames, empty highways, a viscerally tense shootout in the White House. The brutal images of war, but not the messy hearts or minds behind them.

Civil War is screening at the SXSW festival and will be released in US and UK cinemas on 12 April

• First look review
• Kirsten Dunst
• Alex Garland
• Jesse Plemons
• Action and adventure films

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