I wanted to love this movie going into it, but I found myself frustrated by its inability to deliver any semblance of stakes or taking a stance on something. For a political movie this was a bold, bland, and terrible choice. This needed less fence-sitting and more big swings. You can't make a political movie and then not take any political stances, even in the form of good vs evil being two different political ideologies in a fictional version of the U. S.
With that being said, there were some very compelling scenes that left me on the edge of my seat and clambering for more. Especially the scene where Jesse Plemons makes his appearance. This along with the scene driving through the burning forest were my favorites of the film. An honorable mention is the entire fight to get into the white house during the DC scene, which had me so anxious and stressed that I was almost feeling nauseous (in a good way of course).
The sound design was impeccable and it had me feeling like I was in every scene with the characters, especially the gunfight moments. Another impactful point was the use of silence during emotive scenes, most notably in the moment we see Joe screaming while the helicopters are taking off and when he and Jesse are in the back seat having a breakdown.
A criticism I have is that it follows the overused trend of the last decade of post-apocalyptic feeling sets for a story that doesn't require it. The traveling across desolate America and stopping at every small encounter with another person just made me think I was watching a rip off of The Last of Us.
This movie was good, but it could have been so much better. It could have done with being a solid 2:30 instead of 1:49 in run time. The pacing would have been better, more of the world building could have been established, and the introduction of what the stakes actually were for each side in the war could have been stated. But we got none of that.
I wish this was better than it was, I truly do. I am giving it a very soft 6/10 with the possibility of it being lower after a repeat viewing in the future. Wait to watch this one on streaming.
With that being said, there were some very compelling scenes that left me on the edge of my seat and clambering for more. Especially the scene where Jesse Plemons makes his appearance. This along with the scene driving through the burning forest were my favorites of the film. An honorable mention is the entire fight to get into the white house during the DC scene, which had me so anxious and stressed that I was almost feeling nauseous (in a good way of course).
The sound design was impeccable and it had me feeling like I was in every scene with the characters, especially the gunfight moments. Another impactful point was the use of silence during emotive scenes, most notably in the moment we see Joe screaming while the helicopters are taking off and when he and Jesse are in the back seat having a breakdown.
A criticism I have is that it follows the overused trend of the last decade of post-apocalyptic feeling sets for a story that doesn't require it. The traveling across desolate America and stopping at every small encounter with another person just made me think I was watching a rip off of The Last of Us.
This movie was good, but it could have been so much better. It could have done with being a solid 2:30 instead of 1:49 in run time. The pacing would have been better, more of the world building could have been established, and the introduction of what the stakes actually were for each side in the war could have been stated. But we got none of that.
I wish this was better than it was, I truly do. I am giving it a very soft 6/10 with the possibility of it being lower after a repeat viewing in the future. Wait to watch this one on streaming.