Spoilers Civil War Movie

Bedrockgames

I post in the voice of Christopher Walken
Saw the new movie "Civil War" (no not the Avengers movie or a movie about the OG American civil war)

In a time when movie trailers often spoil the best parts, honestly I think the trailers undercut this movie. At its core, its a movie about war journalists documenting the finale of a new American civil war. The movie is really focused on the core protagonists, using the backdrops around them to highlight what is going on in the war.

This movie is tightly scripted, it felt perfectly paced, and told me enough to keep me in engaged without feeling the need for overly drawn out exposition. The audience knows what they need to know, aka what the journalists know, and uses the fog of war to deliver some very gripping scenes.

I also appreciate how apolitical it is, it doesn't tie in to any explicit politics of modern America.


There has been a lot of talk lately that with the possibility downfall of the billion dollar marvel movie, that movie audiences are hungry for lower budget more character focused movies, and if that's you, this is exactly the kind of movie you have been looking for. I went into this movie with a very low bar of expectation, and was quite impressed.

I think a partisan civil war movie would be pretty bad (one of the worst books I ever read was Orson Scott Card's highly partisan Empire, which is about an second American civil war, and that kind of story really loses something when it is simply about the writer showing how right they think their side is and how wrong the other side is. It wasn't the greatest book for a number of reasons so I am sure someone could pull of a more political version of this story, but I have more interest in this movie now that I am hearing it isn't so political (I was expecting it either to be a cheerleader movie for red or blue states when I first heard about it). Dealing more with the consequences of the political division, still is a political subject but a much more poignant one I think
 

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Ryujin

Legend
There are always other explanations but I think the point though is pretty much all Americans recognize in a movie set in the future, with a third term president, implies he has moved towards being a dictator. Term limits could change. But the most likely scenario pretty much any American envisions or worries about is a president pulling a Putin
As was stated when the Amendment was initially proposed.
 

Bedrockgames

I post in the voice of Christopher Walken
Also on the term limit thing, one detail that is important is that is a constitutional amendment. Amendments are intentionally difficult to introduce and to change. It would require a broad consensus for the country to shift to three four or more term limits at this point
 

Ryujin

Legend
Also on the term limit thing, one detail that is important is that is a constitutional amendment. Amendments are intentionally difficult to introduce and to change. It would require a broad consensus for the country to shift to three four or more term limits at this point
One site I read likened the odds as being like someone living to the age of 80 and then being killed by a lightning strike. Not impossible, but...
 

Stalker0

Legend
There are always other explanations but I think the point though is pretty much all Americans recognize in a movie set in the future, with a third term president, implies he has moved towards being a dictator. Term limits could change. But the most likely scenario pretty much any American envisions or worries about is a president pulling a Putin
yeah I definately considered that a trigger. A 3rd term President in fiction is American code for "this president has gone off the rails"

Non-american moviegoers might not recognize that, but we get several other notes from the journalists which again heavily implied the president has gone Tyranical. Now that said, its not directly stated that was the reason for the succession, did the president do so insane things and that's why the states broke away....did the president start doing those things after the war to "tighten his grip" on the remaining states trying to hold them together, or is it all just propaganda and thats what that side wants you to think? You never know for certain.
 

There are always other explanations but I think the point though is pretty much all Americans recognize in a movie set in the future, with a third term president, implies he has moved towards being a dictator. Term limits could change. But the most likely scenario pretty much any American envisions or worries about is a president pulling a Putin
I'm pretty sure George Lucas made that a plot point in Attack of the Clones.
 

Umbran

Mod Squad
Staff member
Supporter
Well something has changed, certainly. I wouldn't say it means things have gone wrong.

Um, dude. You're Britsplaining America to an American. :p

2 isn't a more magical number than 3, it's just the one you guys have agreed on at present. You had one go to 4 within a lifetime of today. You might have a different rule 50 years from today. That's OK.

With respect, you don't understand how difficult it is to change that rule now that it is in place. The political barriers are extreme. If that rule has changed, that means some serious shenanigans are going on.

You are also not taking this in the context in which we Americans sit at the moment - though that includes current politics.

This is not an MCU multiverse movie. Saying that the guy is a third-term President is not supposed to be taken in stride of, "Oh, this is just a work of fiction, and in this alternate world the rules are different, so this doesn't really mean anything." It is mentioned to put it in direct contrast with how things are in our real world - with all the possible implications that come with it.
 
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Ryujin

Legend
Um, dude. You're Britsplaining America to an American. :p



With respect, you don't understand how difficult it is to change that rule now that it is in place. The political barriers are extreme. If that rule has changed, that means some serious shenanigans are going on.

You are also not taking this in the context in which we Americans sit at the moment - though that includes current politics.

This is not an MCU multiverse movie. Saying that the guy is a third-term President is not supposed to be taken in stride of, "Oh, this is just a work of fiction, and in this alternate world the rules are different, so this doesn't really mean anything." It is mentioned to put it in direct contrast with how things are in our real world - with all the possible implications that come with it.
Well, to be fair, he was Britsplainging to a Canucksplainer ;)
 
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aco175

Legend
I recall the last few elections and how talking heads say that the current president would declare martial law to prevent the newly elected from taking office, thus staying for a 3rd term for Obama or 2nd term in Trump's case. The peaceful transfer of power in American politics has been a remarkable thing the founding fathers thought of.
 

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