Saw it yesterday night, so this are just some of my first impressions and it’ll take some time to process and maybe a rewatch for any final verdict.

Coming from Alex Garland, who made some of my favorite movies of all time (Ex Machina and Dredd), and distributed by A24, who have an exceptional track record, my expectations were extremely high. In the end it didn’t quite live up to them, but admittedly that might just be on me. Overall it is a very good movie.

To get to some of my thoughts:

• I had a hard time with Nick Offerman as authoritarian President, not because of his performance, but because in the moment i couldn’t quite seperate him from his parks and rec performance (and the overall positive offscreen image i have from him in my mind). That isn’t a fault of the movie and on me, but just an observation

• Another aspect that took me out of the movie was that in my opinion they weren’t really dressed like i’d expect seasoned war reporter to be dressed (but that might be my mental image being wrong). Towards the start of the movie they still do it. Like in one of the first scenes with the bomb going off they have that bright reflective vest. Or in another scene they do wear this distinctive blue Press helmet. I think Lee also wears it in some of the flashbacks we get in the early hotel bathtub scene. But most of the time they just seem to walk around casually like civilians with only waving around their tiny press credential badges. Like when they directly approach the armed men at the mass grave. Or in the final act where the other journalist team seems to be in full gear, but they just wear a small vest, no helmet.

• They also seemed a bit too clean for me for being on the road in a country where normal life has broken down due to the civil war going on. Like always a fresh pair of fresh cloths, washed hair and clean hands etc.

• I think the action was done extremely well. And watching it in a large (relatively empty) theater the contrast between quiet moments and extremely loud gun shots was great. Not to say that the rest of the movie wasn’t shot well in general.

I think between the high expectations and aspects that kind of took me out of the more realistic image i had in my mind, my initial impression after watching wasn’t as hyped. But having slept over it my opinion of the movie has improved, and might continue to do so.