I liked it for the most part. I didn't get as annoyed by the journalist focus as some reviews have. Making the journalists the focus avoids the perspective problem of a traditional war movie, where the audience only sees one side's viewpoint.
The movie is about the horrors of war, and uses a war in the U.S. to make it feel more visceral for American audiences. While reviewers, and Zoo, focus on which side in the movie represents which side in modern America, I don't think it matters. The movie is a cautionary tale about a modern society unraveling, and does not want viewers cheering for either side. America is not immune to a society getting so unstable that it turns on itself.
I do think the movie is too optimistic about what an America fighting a Civil War would look like. America has such a complicated and urbanized economy that deindustrialization would result in mass starvation and rapid fragmentation of our society.
The movie itself is OK. It has some slow spots, and the slow motion shots would be more effective if the director didn't do one every 5 minutes. The acting was decent. I like Wagner Maura and Caelee Spaeny, Dunst was OK and Henderson plays the same character in everything he does. I didn't love the ending for Dunst's character, and thought it undermined the movie a bit.
The movie was decent, and it makes an important point. I would give a mild recommendation.
