I finally found a couple of hours to go see this today.
I went in fully expecting the Texas|California team would be the "bad" guys, and the oh-so-wonderful President of the formerly United States would be the "good" guys. They seemed to set the stage different from my expectations right from the start. I thought overall it was about as apolitical a movie as one could have and call it "Civil War" although they did drop enough hints throughout to give you an idea of what led to the events they were going to depict in the movie.
I love that the movie didn't do a whole lot of exposition. They simply followed a group of 4 journalists on a round-about road trip from New York to Washington, D.C. I agree that the female photo-journalists were sociopaths, as someone else described them here. They want the shot, THE SHOT that will define these events, and are willing to cast aside all reasonable measures of safety or concern for their fellow (wo)man to get that shot. I must say that I fully expected the girl to get a head shot, but am actually rather pleased that they subverted expectations and it was Spidey's girlfriend who gets killed (just as she seems to have regained some sense of her own humanity).
I wish there had been a bit more between the dude journalist and the President. I can't even say I understood what he asked him before the soldier blew the President away.
This is a movie that is going to stick with me for a while, unlike a movie like Dune Part II (which was a better movie overall and one that I will rewatch a bunch of times). I will get this Civil War when it comes to digital and watch it again, but I think this will be a bit like The Blair Witch Project, a not-so-mainstream movie that is really well made and plants just enough imagery in one's head that it is damn near impossible to put aside.
Regarding photo-journalists. I wanted to yell at the screen when they were in D.C. - WEAR YOUR F***** KEVLAR HELMETS! I kept expecting head shots on them. Clearly it's a dangerous profession, and generally speaking, worthy of respect.
Robert F. Read snapped this photograph aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise in August 1942. It was a bomb dropped from a Japanese Val dive bomber. This explosion killed Mr. Read, yet it is one of the most famous photographs to come out of World War II.
. It's hard to fully digest in one viewing imo. I realize some are hesitant because the theme seems too dire and depressing...but for me it was done in such a way that it wasn't really depressing, but more of an action packed dire warning. 
