Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Cailee Spaeny, Jesse Plemons, Nick Offerman, Karl Glusman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonica T. Gibbs, Jess Matney
OUR RATING: ★★★☆☆
Story: A24 dystopian thriller drama written and directed by Alex Garland. Civil War (2024) (2024) follows a team of journalists as they race against time to reach Washington DC before rebel factions descend upon the White House.
Where to Watch:
Best Quotes from Civil War
President: Citizens of America, we are now closer than ever to a historic victory.
Sammy: You watch. As soon as DC falls, they’ll turn on each other.
Sammy: They shoot journalists on the side in the capital. They literally see us as enemy combatants.
Sammy: Just be sure you get the words out before the piano wire gets too tight.
Lee: Three hundred. For half a tank and two cans.
Pete: Three hundred buys you a sandwich. We got ham or cheese.
Lee: Three hundred Canadian.
Lee: Once you start asking yourself those questions, you can’t stop. So we don’t ask. We record so other people ask. Want to be a journalist? That’s the job.
Lee: The back seat is both kindergarten and an old people’s home. How did this happen?
Lee: There is no version of this that is a mistake. I know, because I’m it. Joel and Sammy are it.
Jessie: It’s my choice.
Lee: Right. Then I’ll remember that when you lose your s**t, or you get blown up, or shot.
Jessie: Would you photograph that moment if I get shot?
Lee: What do you think?
Lee: Every time I survived a war zone, and got the photo, I thought I was sending a warning home. “Don’t do this.” But here we are.
Sammy: [to Lee, referring to Jessie] I’m worried about that girl. And I’m worried about you too.
Joel: My advice, don’t expect to sleep. That way if you do, it’s a nice surprise.
Joel: It’s not nice being scared alone.
Jessie: So how about you tell me the story of how you became a photo journalist?
Lee: You don’t know? I thought I was one of your heroes.
Joel: Did we just drive through a time portal?
Jessie: It’s a twilight zone.
Joel: Are you guys aware there’s like a pretty huge civil war going on all across America.
Shop Assistant: Oh, sure, but we just try to stay out.
Joel: Stay out?
Shop Assistant: With what we see on the news, seems like it’s for the best.
Lee: So weird. This place is like everything I’d forgotten.
Sammy: Funny. I was thinking it felt like everything I remembered.
Sammy: The ones that get taken, Qaddafi, Mussolini, Ceausescu. They’re always lesser men than you think. At the end, they let you down, Joe.
Joel: Who’s giving you orders?
American Soldier: No one’s giving us orders, man. Someone’s trying to kill us. We’re trying to kill them.
Joel: You don’t know what side they’re fighting for?
Sammy: Take it from an old hand. Sleep any chance you get. You never know what’s coming around the next corner.
Sammy: I’m telling you every instinct in me says this is death. Okay? Death.
Joel: We’re American. Okay?
Soldier: Okay. What kind of American are you?
Joel: So you and I, we’re too late. We missed the story. And Sammy didn’t even die for anything good.
Jessie: These last few days, I’ve never been scared like that before. And I’ve never felt more alive.
Dave: The president’s right in that f***ing building.
Joel: What do you hear they’re going to do with him?
Dave: Kill. No capture.
Joel: I need a quote.
President: Don’t let them kill me.
Joel: Yeah. That will do.