Review by jollyjumpup

I was really eager to see this, being a huge fan of the writer-director and anticipating an apocalyptic thriller worthy of the bold title. While the direction was crisp, the story was a major disappointment, a blown opportunity to explore the explosive political and social divisions in today's America that could possibly lead to a civil war.

It seems strange that the.writer who gave us Ex Machina and other unique and interesting films would deliver a lame political thriller with so little political substance. I can only guess that either he caved to the fascination some British filmmakers seem to have for military action or he was the victim of studio executives who washed out any controversial substance in the script development process.

The script displays a complete disinterest in creating a plausible scenario based on the real forces at work in the world today. There's a lame nod to white supremacists (which fits the standard Hollywood political agenda), but the main body of rebels is vague. And the pairing of Texas and California is a puzzling choice, since the two states couldn't be more different politically.

Ultimately what we have is a lumbering road pic with bits of intense action scattered throughout and a simplistic character drama that outshines the promised theme. Basically it's a less interesting, less tense, fictional version of "A Private War."

That said, if you're in the mood for a shoot 'em up action thriller without much suspense or provocative elements, this will probably do.