Warning: This post contains mild spoilers for Civil War

Summary

• Men is Garland's ambiguous, harrowing film filled with dread.
• Civil War exceeds Men but lacks the eerie nature of Annihilation.
• Ex Machina, Garland's best, delves into human-machine dynamics.

Alex Garland's films have had quite an impact, and his latest, Civil War, is no different, which makes ranking them a tall order. The filmmaker made his screenwriting debut with the Danny Boyle-directed 28 Days Later, and has gone on to write a plethora of movies and TV shows, including Devs, Never Let Me Go, and Sunshine. While he largely sticks to sci-fi, Garland has done plenty of horror, among other genres.

Garland made his directorial debut in 2014 with Ex Machina and has since directed three more films. When it comes to Garland’s movies, they’re always layered, stylish, and filled with themes and moments that can be dissected and discussed long after the film is over. His propensity for creating such intelligent, often surreal, films is what has catapulted him into the spotlight and garnered his work much critical acclaim. Though he's made a name for himself, Garland has confirmed he is retiring from directing. With Civil War being his last (for now), it's time to look back on his films.

Men (2022)

Men is good, but it's not Garland's best

Garland’s Men is perhaps his most ambiguous film, a harrowing, surreal experience that requires multiple viewings to wrap one's head around.

There is an underlying feeling of dread that permeates the film, bringing with it a series of unsettling events that unravel as the story draws to its end. While the movie is a horror filled with dread and the tension is excellent as it ramps up, Men is mostly a series of traumatic events lobbied at its main character. It pulls on the strings that make up women’s experiences with misogyny, but is often too vague in bringing everything together cohesively.

The film’s ambiguity is equally a strength and a weakness, leaving viewers with the distinct realization that the story isn’t as deep as it purports itself to be. Men is vague enough while being riddled with religious imagery and symbolism, but it asks its audience to be patient as it builds toward something that attempts to draw conclusions where there might not be any. Garland has tackled surrealism before with success, and Men is an overall interesting and well-made film that leaves one with much to think about after, but it’s also not the director’s strongest work thus far.

Civil War (2024)

Civil War is a strong film, but its ambiguity doesn't add to the premise

A step above Men, yet somehow not as eerie as Annihilation, Garland wrote and directed Civil War, a dystopian thriller that sees the US in the midst of a civil war that has split the nation into various factions, with the seceding states of California and Texas — collectively known as the Western Forces — attempting to overthrow the president. Civil War is laden with horrific images, ones that seem influenced by real-life events from around the world. Garland’s film can be provocative, intense, and even occasionally moving.

Civil War also stars Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Nick Offerman.

Despite being ambiguous, the drama delivers a message in its own way, fleshing out its world through the eyes of its war photographers. Garland has long been good at creating palpable tension and intrigue within the confines of his settings, and Civil War is no different. The dystopian actioner plays out like a road trip movie with a very dark, potent finale. It’s heightened by the animosity and carnage Kirsten Dunst’s Lee and her team witness as they travel south to Washington, DC. The film is emotionally raw when it comes to exploring Lee, in particular.

But one of the biggest things that prevents Civil War from rising above some of Garland’s other work is its refusal to engage in its own politics beyond the surface. The writer-director’s choice to keep things vague weakens the strength of the film’s premise. Whereas Annihilation benefits from the ambiguity, which adds to its unsettling nature, Civil War’s plot needed firmer parameters and details to drive home its point. And yet, Garland manages to make Civil War a compelling, heart-wrenching watch.

Annihilation (2018)

Annihilation is one of Garland's most unsettling films

Based on the first novel in James VanderMeer’s trilogy, Annihilation follows a biologist, Lena (Natalie Portman) and her team — Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Tuva Novotny — who enter into a mysterious area where nothing is as it seems after the disappearance of Lena’s husband Kane. Of his films, Annihilation is perhaps Garland’s most visually stunning. Like Men, Annihilation can be quite ambiguous, but it thoughtfully touches upon themes of environmental destruction, the destruction humanity can inflict, and so much more.

It’s also quite a thrilling ride from start to finish. Littered with moments of unease, Annihilation doesn’t have any immediate answers, but that is a part of what makes the journey so worthwhile, as the tension cuts through at every turn. The film is shrouded in mystery, its mind-bending story twisting and turning as it treks towards its conclusion. To that end, Annihilation cannot be broken down into simple , which is also what makes it an endlessly exciting film. It’s visually captivating, the natural world that surrounds Lena and her team both a wonder and a threat.

The scares, meanwhile, are intense and horrifying. Here, Garland shows his gifts for creating a world that is replete with dangers and beauty, meaningful and jarring in its exploration of evolution, human relationships, and the connection to nature. Garland’s second feature was ambitious and showed he wasn’t afraid to take risks, deviating from the world of Ex Machina in fresh, thrilling ways. Annihilation is the kind of film that needs rewatching, with each viewing offering something entirely new.

Ex Machina (2014)

Garland's first feature as director is also his best

Garland’s directorial debut, Ex Machina has become one of the best sci-fi movies. It’s also notable for bringing the world a scene of Oscar Isaac dancing barefoot. The film follows a CEO named Nathan (Isaac), who flies in Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer, to give the Turing test — which measures a machine’s intelligence capabilities — to the artificially intelligent being Ava (Alicia Vikander), who is but one of Nathan’s many AIs. Ex Machina engages with its audience intellectually, examining what it means for a being to be considered intelligent and conscious, with Ava outwitting the characters and viewers alike.

The film has big ideas that it executes tremendously well, while also leaving a lot of room for further analysis. Crucially, Ex Machina takes on challenging material with ease, creating a world where machines and humanity are not too different. Ex Machina is perhaps Garland’s most straight-forward movie, but one that doesn’t take a backseat to the themes it presents. The film proved not only Garland’s capability at crafting a smart, thoughtful sci-fi drama, but also showcased how themes regarding humans, machines, and the continued advancements of AI can be brought into a new light without feeling derivative.

Its ending is satisfying, a result of the fantastic buildup and tension brewing throughout the film. The cast's portrayals are layered, with Vikander especially delivering a standout performance as Ava. More so than Men, Civil War, and Annihilation, Garland had a firm grasp on the characters and story in Ex Machina, giving them all room to breathe while ramping up the tension, drama, and moral ambiguity that permeated the film. It remains his best film to date and is a reminder of what the filmmaker is truly capable of.