There were plenty of reasons I was looking forward to seeing this film, it had a good ensemble cast, it was made by independent studio A24, and it was written and directed by Alex Garland (The Beach, 28 Days Later, Ex Machina, Annihilation). Basically, in a non-specific dystopian future, tensions between an authoritarian United States government and various regional factions have caused a civil war to break out across America. The FBI has been disbanded, and the President of the United States (Nick Offerman) is serving his third term. In Brooklyn, civilians and military personnel are battling each other, and renowned war photographer Lee Smith (Kirsten Dunst) is there to capture the images. During a suicide bombing, she saves the life of young aspiring photojournalist Jessie (Priscilla's Cailee Spaeny). Following a presidential announcement on television, with the President claiming that victory is close at hand, Lee and her colleague Joel (Wagner Moura) have a discussion. Wanting to get to the truth, Lee wants to travel to Washington, D. C., to interview and photograph the president before the city falls. Lee's mentor Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson) asks to accompany them as far as Charlottesville, where the "WF" (Western Forces) of Texas and California are gathering. Jessie joins them and hears about their intentions. Lee is hesitant when Jessie convinces Joel to take her with them as well. After leaving the city, the group drives on several empty roads, with many abandoned vehicles en route. They stop at a rural gas station for fuel, with three armed men guarding it. Lee successfully negotiates to buy fuel with Canadian dollars. Meanwhile, Jessie wanders off to a nearby car wash and finds two men chained upside down. One of the men following her claims they are being tortured because they are looters. Lee defuses the situation by asking the man to pose for a photograph with his victims. After leaving, Jessie puts herself down for being too scared to take photos. The group stops outside a combat zone overnight, where gunfire and gunshots can be seen and overheard. They document the combat the next day as there is a military assault on a building held by loyalists. Jessie shows potential as a war photographer capturing some great images as the military opens fire and captures loyalist soldiers. Continuing their journey, the group spend the night at a refugee camp, a sporting stadium overtaken by hundreds of people camping and avoiding the warfare. Jessie asks Lee about her history as a photographer in warzones; rather than what she has read about her in articles she wants to get her point of view. They next pass through a small town where life appears civilised and peaceful. They visit a local shop where Jessie encourages Lee to try on some clothes and they grow closer. The shop assistant (Melissa Saint-Amand) explains that the townspeople live in blissful ignorance of the war. However, before leaving, they witness that there are guards on the rooftops. Later, they are about to pass through the remains of a Christmas fair. They are fired at by a sniper from a large estate house in the distance, and a sniper (Karl Glusman) and his spotter (Karl Glusman) are hiding behind the fair structures to locate and kill the unseen shooter. The snipers mock Joel's attempts to see which side they are fighting for or against, they only tell him that they are simply engaged in a struggle for survival. After the snipers kill the shooter, Lee sees Jessie's nerve building and her photography skills improving as she witnesses several deaths. Jessie develops a mentorship under Lee; she asks if Lee would photograph her if she was killed, and Lee implies she might. While driving, the foursome encounters a vehicle coming up fast behind them, revealed to be two other reporters Joel knows, Tony (Nelson Lee) and Bohai (Evan Lai). Tony and Jessie playfully switch vehicles, only for Bohai and Jessie to disappear. The rest of the group searches for the vehicle and finds Bohai and Jessie have been captured by militants who are dumping civilian corpses in a large open grave. After Bohai is killed, Lee and Joel try to intervene with the xenophobic ultranationalist militant (Jesse Plemons, Dunst's husband), who questions where each of them is from. The unnamed soldier is satisfied with Jessie being from Missouri and Joel being from Florida, but he kills Tony when he says Hong Kong. Sammy saves the group by running over the soldier and his cohort, killing them both. A third militant fires at their vehicle as they escape. Joel and Jessie are panicked, and they all realise that Sammy has been fatally wounded. Sammy dies from his injuries after they arrive at the Western Forces military camp in Charlottesville. The group grieves in different ways; Lee takes a photo of Sammy's dead body but deletes it shortly after. Joel gets drunk and begins to become hysterical. Jessie floats around the campsite. Two fellow reporters inform the group that defenders outside the White House have mostly surrendered, leaving Washington largely unprotected. They follow the WF as Jessie's photography becomes increasingly risky. Lee suffers a brief post-traumatic stress disorder episode enroute and cannot take any pictures. In the besieged capital, the president's limousine and its escort unsuccessfully try to leave the grounds of the White House. But Lee determines that the President is still in the building and leads her group inside. The WF follows and battles against the remaining Secret Service agents. In the White House and during the ensuing shootout, trying to get a photo, Jessie exposes herself to gunfire. When she is about to be shot in the crossfire, Lee pushes Jessie to safety and she is killed. Jessie is tearful but photographs her mentor's corpse. The WF soldiers capture the President in the Oval Office. Joel tells them to stop so that he can get a quote. The President begs Joel for mercy, "Please, don't let them kill me". Satisfied to get a statement, Joel steps back as the President is executed. Jessie takes a photo of the smiling WF soldiers posing with the President's corpse. Also starring Sonoya Mizuno as British reporter Anya, and Jefferson White as cameraman Dave. Dunst gives a splendid performance as the photojournalist, Spaeny is not bad as the young wannabe photographer taken under her wing, Moura does well, Henderson is likeable, and Plemons with his few minutes onscreen steals the show as the terrifying prejudiced soldier. This is an ambitious film that is somewhere between 28 Days Later and the final scenes of Full Metal Jacket, it is between political and apolitical (neutral) in its approach to a war-torn America, not anti-Trump or anti-woke, for all political persuasions. It never reveals or explains what states are at war with each other, whose side to be on, and who committed what atrocities seen or mentioned only that the President has essentially become the enemy, which makes it clever in its design and script. The first half is more about character development and establishing the wartime scenario, it is by the building invasion and the Plemons scene that it properly kicks in and becomes the uncertain tense thrill ride it should be, overall, it is a fantastically executed and engaging dystopian war thriller. Very good!