POSITIVES:
1) The performances are brilliant. I really liked the dysfunctional family dynamic that our four leads have with each other, whilst there are also some barnstorming supporting roles for Jesse Plemons and Nick Offerman 2) The film certainly doesn't pull any punches. The violence and gore is really brutal at times and the action scenes are seat-grippingly intense. I felt that this really added to the power and memorability of the film 3) The film looks spectacular. Real credit is due for the director and cinematographer here because there really are some striking visuals, both in a beautiful sense and a haunting sense 4) With the fractured and divided political landscape that we have in 2024, this film felt so potent and like a damning indictment of where the world is headed. However, the most impressive thing was how it does this without actually passing any judgement. It's not specific to any political party or ideology, which I respected a lot
NEGATIVES:
1) Throughout the entire film, I was constantly unable to suspend my disbelief at the central premise that the press get so much access and respect from everybody in this war. There are soldiers and stone cold killers just happily allowing the press to accompany them on their missions for some reason? This was never more infuriating for me than at the end of the film when the Western Forces soldiers, whose entire purpose is to kill the president, actually wait to kill the president just so a journalist can get a quote from the president first?! Never in a million years would this happen 2) I wish we'd gotten to actually see so much more of the civil war that is unfolding, rather than just following our four leads for the entire runtime. To have Nick Offerman as the president only appear in two short scenes and nothing else was a mistake for me. I could've done with some scenes from the president's point of view or even some flashbacks to give deeper meaning to what is happening and why 3) There were a couple of tonal clashes for me that didn't work. For example, some of the song choices didn't gel with the visuals very well and the comedic scene of the two cars side by side while people climb out the window of one car and into the other felt like it was part of a different film.
1) The performances are brilliant. I really liked the dysfunctional family dynamic that our four leads have with each other, whilst there are also some barnstorming supporting roles for Jesse Plemons and Nick Offerman 2) The film certainly doesn't pull any punches. The violence and gore is really brutal at times and the action scenes are seat-grippingly intense. I felt that this really added to the power and memorability of the film 3) The film looks spectacular. Real credit is due for the director and cinematographer here because there really are some striking visuals, both in a beautiful sense and a haunting sense 4) With the fractured and divided political landscape that we have in 2024, this film felt so potent and like a damning indictment of where the world is headed. However, the most impressive thing was how it does this without actually passing any judgement. It's not specific to any political party or ideology, which I respected a lot
NEGATIVES:
1) Throughout the entire film, I was constantly unable to suspend my disbelief at the central premise that the press get so much access and respect from everybody in this war. There are soldiers and stone cold killers just happily allowing the press to accompany them on their missions for some reason? This was never more infuriating for me than at the end of the film when the Western Forces soldiers, whose entire purpose is to kill the president, actually wait to kill the president just so a journalist can get a quote from the president first?! Never in a million years would this happen 2) I wish we'd gotten to actually see so much more of the civil war that is unfolding, rather than just following our four leads for the entire runtime. To have Nick Offerman as the president only appear in two short scenes and nothing else was a mistake for me. I could've done with some scenes from the president's point of view or even some flashbacks to give deeper meaning to what is happening and why 3) There were a couple of tonal clashes for me that didn't work. For example, some of the song choices didn't gel with the visuals very well and the comedic scene of the two cars side by side while people climb out the window of one car and into the other felt like it was part of a different film.