The Argentine, begins as Che and a band of Cuban exiles (led by Fidel Castro) reach the Cuban shore from Mexico in 1956. Within two years, they mobilized popular support and an army and toppled the U.S.-friendly regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.
In releasing this reverent, meticulous, fascinating but flaccid history in two lengthy parts, Soderbergh committed perhaps the greatest sin of all. He made Che boring.
– Roger Moore,
Orlando Sentinel,
18 Feb 2009
rotten:
A potentially great title-role performance by Benicio Del Toro, which won him the best actor award at Cannes, is buried beneath Soderbergh's stylistic tics and a defiant lack of dramatic tension.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
20 Feb 2009
rotten:
There is precious little in these movies to fill out our understanding of what it was that made Che a rebel, a leader of men, and the repository of the romantic dreams of several generations of armchair revolutionaries
– Jonathan F. Richards,
Film.com,
6 Mar 2009
fresh:
Soderbergh has made two almost perfect war films, more like the Rings Trilogy than The Green Berets.