Review: Che Part One & Two

I will admit upfront that I have heard of Che Guevara, but didn’t know much about why he was such an iconic person, and why endless students adorn Guevara T-Shirts to this day, so I saw the opportunity to watch Steven Soderbergh’s epic, not only for the standard entertainment reasons but also as a way to educate myself on the man’s life.

Part One begins with a dads army style map of Cuba and South America, but has a much more sombre mood as parts of the map change and highlight, to be honest as a non American and someone who was uninformed as to what Guevara’s life was all about, this was wasted on me, and I doubt a second watching of the movie will change that for me.

The first movie charts the life of Che Guevara an Argentinean doctor, who joins up with Fidel Castro to start a revolution in Cuba to overthrow Batista’s stronghold and take control of the country for the benefit of the people, the film is shot well and shows flash forwards to the obvious victory as Che talks to the UN about Cuba’s revolution. Personally I think that Che was shown as a hero in the movie as he makes the change from field medic to commandant leading Fidel’s final overthrowing at Santa Clara in 1958, as the movie is a biopic you would hope the film would reveal many more personal insights into the man, but all you seem to see is him being withdrawn and you tend to get more insight into how the actual battles took place, that said the film is entertaining if a little confusing at times but it will peak your interest in the man, the times and the Cuban people.

Part Two is a very different film, in the first movie you have an overwhelming feeling that victory is just around the corner, everything goes well and at the end you turn it off feeling that Che is a hero, in Part Two the film makes you feel instantly that his mission in Bolivia will fail (which historically it does). The second film charts Che’s attempt to overthrow the government in Bolivia but the people are resistant to the efforts of a foreigner, and eventually he is captured and ultimately executed, the second part does have some interesting parts but lacks the punch of the first movie and really doesn’t have the same level of content, yes Guevara is a legend (be it good or bad) nothing will change that but a two hour long epic really wasn’t needed for the second campaign, it would have probably been better received if it had been a thirty minute attachment to the first film, the comparisons between the Cuban and Bolvian peasants were already burnt into your mind and you didn’t need a film of this length to explain that to anyone with half a brain, the one thing that would have been nice if they had shown more of it was the CIA’s involvement in Guevara’s capture in Bolivia.

Overall
Che Part One and Two are well filmed, intelligent films and depending on what you are looking for they could be the movies for you, Benicio Del Toro is excellent and does deliver a career defining performance, it just feels a little long winded in parts and depending on your view point on Che Guevara you may be disappointed as he is very much portrayed as a hero and the saviour of the Cuban people in the first movie, if that is not how you saw things then the film probably isn’t for you. If however you have heard of him and want to get an insight into his life and struggles then pick it up now!

Rating: 3.5/5.0

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Out Now To Own as a box-set and individually on DVD and Blu-Ray

One of the most eagerly awaited and critically acclaimed films of 2009, Che is an epic saga exploring the fascinating life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara, one of the most influential political figures of the twentieth century. Directed by Academy award winning filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (Erin Brockovich, Out Of Sight, Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven), the two films star Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, 21 Grams) in a career-defining role that won him the best actor award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.