Civil War | 2024 | R | – 1.7.10

Why is “Civil War” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong violent content, bloody/disturbing images, and language throughout.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sexual reference, many people being murdered in gruesome ways, a man being set on fire, bodies being piled in large ditches, explosions that kill people and cause property damage, several arguments, and over 50 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When several American states begin to secede and armed fighters move toward Washington, DC planning to kill the president (Nick Offerman), four reporters (Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny and Stephen McKinley Henderson) venture across the country toward the White House, to interview him. Also with Jefferson White, Nelson Lee, Evan Lai and Jesse Plemons. Directed by Alex Garland. [Running Time: 1:49]

Civil War SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A man says that another man was drunk in a bar and was “hitting on” a young woman.
► A woman lies in a bathtub and we see her bare knees and shoulders. A woman in a shop tries on a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage.

Civil War VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – People chant, “We want water,” as armed guards stand around a water truck, people push and fight and a young woman is struck hard in the head with a nightstick (no blood is seen); a woman puts on a backpack and carries a giant American flag as she runs into the crowd and an explosive she is carrying detonates killing and injuring many people nearby (many bloody and torn bodies are shown on the ground as a woman photographs the carnage). Gunmen shoot at each other and one man is pinned behind a column; others try to exchange cover fire and he is shot several times when he runs toward them; one man tries to stop the blood that is pumping out of one abdominal wound. Several gunmen enter a building and we hear a voice that seems to be someone in pain; when the person is found, he is shot and we see a large pool of blood around him. Several men with bags on their heads and their hands tied behind their backs are taken out of a building, lined up and shot repeatedly (we see bloody wounds). A man with a gun quizzes another man and then shoots him; he asks another man where he is from and when he learns that he is Chinese, he shoots him also and the other people in the group scream and panic until a man in a car speeds toward them and hits the gunman knocking him into a large hole filled with other dead bodies; a young woman falls into the hole and appears panicked as she crawls to the side where a man helps her out and they get in a car that speeds away while being shot at (we later see the driver has been shot and blood is on his abdomen); the young woman vomits (we see goo). A convoy of vehicles speeds away from the White House and gunmen surround and open fire on them, one vehicle is broadsided, the occupants are shot and one vehicle is riddled with bullets. A woman with her hands held in the air pleads with gunmen to make a deal and they shoot her; several other people are shot as they try to shoot back (we see blood spurting) and a man is pulled out from under a desk and held on the ground where he pleads and is then shot several times. A young woman stands in a hallway to get a photograph and a woman leaps toward her to push her out of the way of a gunman that shoots at her; the woman is struck and falls dead.
► Several scenes show images (as if photographed) of murder and conflict including a man being shot in the head, and another man being doused with flammable liquid while wrapped in a car tire and set on fire. Armed men sit at a gas station and refuse to give four people in a vehicle any gas; a young woman sees two men hanging by their hands in a car wash shelter and we see them covered with blood and with large gashes on their faces; one gunman says that they are looters and jokes that he doesn’t know what to do with them and asks if he should shoot them or just keep beating them. A car drives toward a Christmas display and we see a dead man lying on the ground with bloody wounds; as the car moves forward, it is shot at from a point unknown and the driver speeds for cover (the car drives over the dead body) while being shot at (one bullet hits a Santa replica in the head); two other men with guns are camouflaged and one shoots and says that he was successful in hitting the other shooter. Three people search for two other people and find them being held at gunpoint next to a large hole in the ground filled with bloody bodies; we see a truck dump bodies into the hole and a gunman sprinkles them with a white powder. Three people walk through hallways where we see dead bodies with blood on the floor and on their injuries.
► Many military vehicles fly and drive into DC and gunfire is exchanged, rockets are launched and detonate with armed people scrambling around, getting shot and blown up, a tank drives over a barricade, buildings are fired on and explosions throw rubble, and a person is shown running while in flames. Gunfire is exchanged in the distance in several scenes and we see flames and explosions glow in the night sky a couple of times. Cars are shown in flames in a few scenes and a helicopter is shown crashed in a shopping mall parking lot; we see bloody bodies scattered on the ground. Newscasts report on violent protests and clashes with riot police in several scenes and one depicts a car being overturned and tear gas launched into crowds; reports describe resistance fighters and the secessionist governments of Texas and California. Sharp shooters are seen on rooftops in several scenes. A vehicle drives through roads that are crowded with damaged vehicles with shattered glass on the ground, smoke billowing in the distance and no people are seen. A building is shown in flames, cars are burned out along a road and several people trudge along the road carrying belongings in a few scenes.
► A car drives erratically, swerves and speeds toward another car, it pulls alongside the other car and the driver honks as the passenger yells at a passenger in the other car; a passenger in one car climbs into the open window of the other car as they speed next to each other, and a passenger in the other car does the same thing and the car speeds away and out of sight. A driver swerves to avoid an oncoming military vehicle and drives off the road (there are no damage or injuries). A car drives along a road surrounded by burning forest and glowing embers float in the air around them. An outpost with many military vehicles is shown to have many coffins lined up on the ground and a man in a vehicle is seen motionless (we understand that he is dead); a woman later wipes the blood from the seat.
► A man stands among tanks and armed people and yells uncontrollably after several people are murdered (we do not hear the sound). A man talks about people finding and killing the President and tells a woman, “Don’t beat me to the money shot.” People discuss the possibility of enemy combatants being executed on the White House lawn. People talk about driving across the country to Washington, DC, as being a suicide pact. A young woman tells a woman that she wants to be a war photographer. People discuss a man in his 3rd term as president and that he has ordered airstrikes on American citizens. A young woman cries after seeing two men hanging after having been beaten and being told to choose if a gunman should shoot them; she is frustrated because she didn’t take any pictures. A man tells a young woman, “Don’t expect to sleep,” because of fear. A young woman talks about an “ANTIFA massacre.” A woman tells a man to stay behind and says, “You’re old and you can’t run.”
► Lights flicker and go out in a hotel and a woman is told to use the stairs to avoid being stuck on an elevator.

Civil War LANGUAGE 10

 – About 54 F-words and its derivatives, 3 obscene hand gestures, 15 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (shook up, idiot, hot shot, retarded), exclamations (are you serious, cool, shut the [F-word deleted] up), 9 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, God, oh my God, Holy [F-word and scatological term deleted], Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Civil War SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man smokes what appears to be marijuana and shares it with others in several scenes. People drink and smoke in a hotel bar, a man carries bottles of liquor in a few scenes and drinks from them, people drink from a bottle of liquor, and a man says that another man was “plenty drunk.” A man smokes cigarettes in several scenes, and several people smoke cigarettes in several scenes.

Civil War DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Civil War, optics, leadership, secession, coordination, the press, ANTIFA, taking chances, the power of journalism, Twilight Zone.

Civil War MESSAGE

 – A new American civil war is a possibility when citizens are split into factions.