When we last saw filmmaker Alex Garland, 2022’s Men brought a horror-fantasy that reflected on toxic masculinity. 2024’s Civil War delivers another kind of “alternate universe” but one with a much more reality-based vibe.

Civil war tears through the United States and leaves various factions against each other. In Washington, the President (Nick Offerman) remains hunkered down and isolated.

Not interviewed in more than a year, photojournalist Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst) hopes to get to DC and talk to him. Along with three colleagues, this leads her on a circuitous and perilous journey from New York to the nation's capital.

When ads for Civil War first appeared, they created immense controversy. Given all the division in the US, the film appeared eager to exploit this confrontational climate and explore a worst case scenario of where the country may head in the future.

And it does – sort of. Although many viewers expected a film clearly about the titular conflict, that conflagration exists more as the narrative’s setting than as a primary plot in and of itself.

As depicted here, the war has been raging for years, and we learn precious little about how it started or developed. We get tantalizing tidbits – a president who stayed in office beyond the mandated two-term limit, a perplexing alliance between Texas and California – but Garland leaves most of these dots unconnected.

Fine – I get that Garland felt more concerned with Lee’s journey than with the nuts and bolts of the war. Nonetheless, the lack of backstory may make it difficult for viewers to concentrate on the main narrative.

Or at least this viewer felt distracted by the essential absence of exposition. Civil War boasts a heavy Apocalypse Now vibe, as we follow a small group on a fraught journey packed with disquieting encounters.

The difference comes from the fact audiences understood the backdrop of the situation in Vietnam. Francis Coppola didn’t need to explain the nature of that conflict.

Because Garland depicts a fictional war, however, inevitable questions arise, and as noted, we get few answers. Again, I get that Garland wanted to tell a personal tale and not a global one.

Nonetheless, I continue to feel he could – and should – have given us some details. Slap up a short text card at the start to provide basics and toss the audience a frickin’ bone!

If we ignore this glaring hole, Civil War becomes a generally decent character drama but not one that excels. Honestly, outside of the provocative hook, the story just doesn’t turn into anything special.

Lee goes on a path that takes her from passive participant in life to a more active member of society. We also get the development of her relationship with Jessie (Cailee Spaeny), a young aspiring photojournalist.

These elements work fine, even if they lean a bit trite. Does it come as any surprise that Jessie evolves into something of a surrogate daughter to Lee?

Not really, and I often think Civil War feels like a fairly standard character piece that gets more of a charge simply due to its setting. Nothing about Lee’s path seems especially insightful, but the use of the US conflict adds a spark.

We do find a fine cast, and Dunst offers the right level of “world-weariness” to Lee. The others support her well and add depth to the proceedings.

Civil War does play better a second time, mainly because the viewer no longer expects a different film than what it delivers. The drama comes through in a more powerful way when we don’t wait for exposition that never arrives.

Still, I think Civil War doesn’t develop into an especially good film because of its muddled focus. The mix of character piece and war tale doesn’t gel, so this winds up as a watchable but only occasionally engaging piece.

Civil War appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Shot with 8K cameras and finished 4K, the film looked great.

Sharpness satisfied. Nary a soft spot emerged in this tight, accurate presentation.

Neither moiré effects nor jaggies marred the image, and I saw no edge haloes. Source flaws failed to materialize.

The film opted for a heavy amber/orange palette, with some of the usual teal tossed in as well. While tedious, the disc replicated the colors as intended.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows offered appealing clarity. Everything about the picture worked well.

Downconverted to Dolby Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos soundtrack added good involvement to the experience. With the occasional bombast expected from a movie with some scenes of combat, the soundfield used the various speakers well.

Obviously, violent elements proved the most involving, as they engulfed the viewer with the sounds of the settings. That side of things worked best, but other sequences also seemed good.

Even quieter sections placed the viewer in the action and consistently satisfied. Surround usage felt pleasing throughout the film, as the back speakers bolstered the various settings well.

Audio quality was also good. Speech appeared natural, and the lines never demonstrated intelligibility problems.

Music was quite dynamic and lively, as the score showed excellent range and delineation. Effects were also bright and bold, with nice low-end to boot. This turned into a more than satisfactory soundtrack.

Entitled Torn Asunder, a six-part documentary runs 56 minutes, 58 seconds. It offers notes from writer/director Alex Garland, stunt coordinator Jeff Dashnaw, co-stunt coordinator Wesley Scott, military advisor Ray Mendoza, visual effects supervisor David Simpson, producer Gregory Goodman, costume designer Meghan Kasperlik, stills photographer Murray Close, production designer Caty Maxey, and actors Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, and Stephen McKinley Henderson.

The documentary covers story/characters, sets and locations, action and stunts, various effects, cast and performances, costumes, and general thoughts. “Torn” follows the production in the story’s order, so it starts with the scenes in New York and winds up in the DC segments.

That becomes an efficient way to examine the shoot, but the end result seems a bit less successful than I’d like. While it gives us a lot of good footage from the set and a mix of insights, we get a bit too much fluff along the way.

In addition to the trailer for War, we get more promos under Also from A24. This domain provides ads for MaXXXine, Men, Ex Machina and The Iron Claw.

A second disc provides a DVD copy of War. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.

Even if we ignore the movie’s “bait and switch” advertising, Civil War becomes only sporadically successful. While aspects of it hit the mark, it lacks real clarity and narrative thrust. The Blu-ray comes with excellent visuals, solid audio and a decent documentary. Civil War deserves a look, even if it doesn’t live up to expectations.