Che: Part Two

Sure. What doth rise, must also fall. I get it. But that's all there is. Almost three hours of falling. It's worse than that dream I keep having about the bear who chases me onto a rickety bridge that collapses under my weight, sending me plummeting into the chasm below. At least I wake up before I hit the ground in my dream.

So slow (moreso than pt 1) and procedural that it will probably have a collateral effect of making all the t-shirt wearing morons turn in their commie cards.

The second part to this massive epic is, indeed, a fantastic effort. Though at times it's obvious its too ambitious for its own good it blazes along, considering its length, at a decent pace. The narrative structure is much more streamlined and also less compelling than The Argentine, which is excellent in both of those respects. What makes Guerrilla great is that you really see the desperation Che and his companions go through, and it's very upsetting.

Watching "Guerrilla" in marathon format with "The Argentine" does not help the film. Also starting with a map, this time of Bolivia, it again sets the slow pace of the film. This one, even slower than the prior. Che, now working mostly undercover, is shown as even more of a hero than he was in the film prior. It does nothing to show the other side of the man, who made great ethical sacrifices to reach, what he believed to be, a greater good. For most of the film, it feels as if nothing happens.

Scored the same as Part One because both films can really be viewed as one piece of work. This has the same problems as the first part, only Che is pushed even further into the background here (a shame, because Del Toro is really great). The whole thing is too passive and methodical and completely fails to stir any kind of emotion from the viewer.

Pretty much everything they do goes wrong, pretty much everyone who helps them pays a big price. I remember I was in Nepal when some leftists started a 'people's war' and 'people' said they would all be dead or in jail within six months, even the (non-guerrilla) rest of the (big) left was saying it could basically be treated as a law and order issue. Then the guerrillas took over two-thirds of the country. Then they won the post-war election. Then they got rid of the monarchy. True story.

After political, emotional and factual distance of the first part, the closer look at psychical condition of guerrillas feels like a treat from Soderbergh. Sadly, it doesn't get any closer to Che than his asthmatic cough. It's even slower then the first part, and with addition of the depressing mood it makes Che very hard to enjoy, especially sitting though 4 and a half version at once.

My review is based on the 'double feature', two-part, viewing... Which ran at about 4 1/2 hours!!! Butt numbing; To say the least... This one is only for the Benicio del Toro fans. (Which I am...) But if you want to see something worth watching, go back to '07's THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE...

"Guerilla" is frustrating and inert because it lacks the upward momentum of "The Argentine" and instead arcs downward as we watch Che and his comrades slowly die away to nothing, for nothing. Without so much as attracting a single Bolivian peasant, the foolishness of Che's endeavor is clear from the start, and one wonders why the hell he even did it at all. Perhaps this was his way of committing suicide after his failure in the Congo? Who knows. Head-strong stupidity seems to have played a role.

Chiming in with others about how everything interesting was captured in the first part of the biopic. This was endless scenes of jungle trekking, Che lecturing his troops about discipline, and firefights between faceless opponents. Way too dry and lacking even any political scheming to satisfy a Cold War nerd like myself. Maybe intercut Bolivia with his time in the Congo, or presiding over the torture/executions of right-wing Cubans to explore the contradictions in his legend? I don't know.

More structured than the first part, with a pretty clear point A to point B narrative. I thought I liked The Argentine and I guess I liked this one, but I'm having a hard time finding where I stand on them overall. Barring the gorgeous cinematography and Del Toro's excellent performance, something about this is a let down, a missed opportunity.

Improves a bit from the pointless first part, but the screenplay is still rather bad. Benicio is still brilliant.

only slightly better than the first, but neither of them serve as justification for producing a two part biography on che, especially when the majority of the second part centers around the failing health and death of the main character.

As a latter to the former of a two-part series which is actually a 269 minute piece, Soderbergh and his screenwriters didn't continue the superimposition of historical sub-narratives and sauntered down the road of a dramatized reenactment of Guerrilla Warfare in Bolivia. The political implications and Che's motifs were only covered with atomized brevity, leaving the viewer misconstrued in a passive and tedious lost-cause; a slow-but-steady downhill tumble into relinquishment and imminent death.

Drags more then part one. Just wish a bit more was done.

Political nuance is given up in this episode in favour of observing the unravelling of a lost cause, if not indeed a folly. Although this too has its fascinations, lying more in questions of the character and motives of the man himself, in the end it is less interesting than the road to victory explored in the first episode.

Del Toro = Che, una vez más..............

Although about 30 minutes too long, with a less engaging narrative (much of the first half of the film feels like killing time for the climax, which is counted to through the film), Soderbergh still has a flair for tense action, and del Toro is fantastic. I liked it but it's not as rewatchable as the first part.

I hate Commies

Marginally better than part one. Only marginally. ANd that's because the aimlessness of the story reflects the failure of the Bolivian guerrilla movement. Appallingly slow paced again, full of pointless establishing shots and people shaking hands and saying their name so that you can instantly forget them, because only one character is in any way distinct from the others... cinematography pulls it up by the bootstraps.

Not nearly as good as its predecessor. The story needs to be told though.

Like the first film Che has superb and interesting moments but it never seems to come together for the most part. Well, this isn't quite true. The final 45 minutes of Che: Part Two feel quite solid but the first part of the film does got a bit tedious, especially after watching the similarly long Che: Part One. Still, Soderbergh manages to make the film watchable at least once.

74.000

surely, not as good as the part one, but very fine for those who, love to know more and see clearly about the last days of Ernesto Che Guevara.

"Too emotionally dry to embrace but too ingenious to dismiss, Che is a fascinating, problematic film." - Fernando F. Croce

Excellent.

In which Che and his comrades wander around in the jungle a lot and absolutely nothing goes their way. Combined with Soderbergh's rather dry and clinical style, this makes for a pretty dull watch.

Like History homework - a bit dull in places but ultimately you will learn something and be a better person for it.

...as they do unto you.

71.125

Worth rating as two separate films, since they are pretty stylistically distinct from each other. This is the nominally artier, more leisurely and contemplative of the two, appropriate considering this time the rebels didn't really seem to know what they were doing and the film reflects this well. It's sort of the Aguirre to The Argentine's Fitzcarraldo so to speak.

More action in this one, but doesn't have the diplomatic battles the first did.

man oh man this guy lived a hard life.

What was the point of casting Matt Damon for that 2 minutes part? Just to put a big name credit on the roll? Strange

Not nearly as good as The Argentine, but still really good. The first person camerawork at the very end, you know the scene, was fantastic.

Too self-indulgent to be a classic. Del Toro is good, though.

The filmmaker Steven Soderbergh hits in to show the history of Che, not the myth. Simple and honest, Che is an almost documentary work, telling how he lived and died the icon, in a film technically perfect.

More peaceful. Less ridiculous soundtrack.