Civil War was released on Friday, April 12. The film takes place in a dystopian future America, where a team of journalists travel to Washington, D.C., as rebel factions descend upon the White House.

This is a masterpiece. I try to refrain from using that word as much as possible, but on virtually every level — cinematography, editing, script, sound design and performances — Civil War goes above and beyond.

Civil War features some of the most intense, visceral and realistic depictions of war that I have seen. It was also a lot more graphic than I was expecting. Because we are following journalists, the film is shot in a way that puts you right in the middle of all the action. The sound design played a key role in this immersion as well, with piercing and jolting audio that constantly had me on the edge of my seat.

I really appreciated that Civil War didn’t necessarily pick a side, and instead told its story from the point of view of journalists. It doesn’t even focus on the politics of the war as a whole, rather spending the majority of the runtime analysing the main characters.

Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Wagner Moura all deliver exceptional performances. Each of the characters are extremely well-written, with so many layers and complexities beneath the surface. It’s always refreshing when a flick can pull off incredible moments of action, while also maintaining the same levels of engagement when it shifts focus to the characters.

As a whole, Civil War is a journey. The plot isn’t overly complex, but with each stop, the flick gets more and more intense. It takes moments to breathe, but even those sequences are just as engaging due to the extremely well-written characters. The ideas that the film presents aren’t far off from reality, which makes it all the more haunting. This is an experience that I don’t think I will ever forget.

Rating: 5 out of 5