I was very interested in watching Civil War for a number of reasons. Mainly I wanted to see how the various political sides were portrayed in the very divided "United" States. Indeed, there are many countries in the world that are near evenly split amongst two groups: High Government Involvement (money, immigration, etc.) vs. Free Market Capitalism.
Unfortunately, there was no coverage of that in Civil War, with the only difference being regions, letting you imagine on your own the differences. They are relying on a regional stereotype to push that the "South" is made up of angry white people that just like killing those that don't agree with them. That put the movie right away into a political category.
When the movie had finished, I was left with some lasting feelings that were intentionally pushed by the story and director:
- the international press are the only real heroes; 2) all American white men just like war and killing.
It's unfortunate that this seemed to be the main narrative from start to finish. There were so many missed opportunities.
Summary: The was like a little like watching the movie Apocalypse Now with the sole main character being the press photographer who was always portrayed as the hero.
The writer and director pushed that those many wartime videographers had a large audience that only desired seeing the upclose expressions from people that were shot and dying. They also pushed that they would be so highly respected and protected from all waring sides. Those continual assumptions caused the movie to lose significant realism.
With such a large production budget and vast thirst for this movie topic, Civil War was a major letdown. Better writing and direction could have made this a movie blockbuster. Instead, it won't be remembered in 3-5 years, and certainly no one would every consider rewatching it.