Anyone seen Che yet?

I just threw away the better part of my Sunday watching Che, parts I and II, what a disappointment.

Love him or hate him these movies don't really show you enough of the man to make you feel either. It seems more built around the minutia of his field experiences than his ideology or his deeds. No matter how you feel about Guevara you cant' deny Che was a dynamic and charismatic figure, and as awesome as Del Toro is in the part that doesn't really come across.

First, the opening "geography" sequences that start each movie were absolutely boring and pointless. Major Fail. Possibly the worst movie opening sequence of all time.

Part I, "The Argentine", focuses mainly on the battles of the Cuban revolution. Almost 2 solid hours of following Che both in his experiences on the front lines and the training he did behind them fueling the Cuban Revolution. I expected Part II, "The Guerrilla", to pick up where Part I left off but instead starts with Che being dropped into Bolivia and then continues with all the details of his battles there. They skip over his disenchantment with Cuba, falling out with Castro, never mention Che's failed campaign in Africa, etc.

The films too literally follows Che's field notes and fail to properly set the stage getting into the circumstances that brought him there. I guess rather than try to get a point across one way or another the films decide to avoid driving home any ideals at all. There's also lots of dialog and interaction with other characters, but much like how they treated Che, the main subject himself, you don't learn much about these people or their backgrounds either.

All in all you're in for a little over 4 hours of subtitles and fighting in the bushes. Soderburg's not really an "action" director either, so even if you're one for war movies you will probably be disappointed here as well. Don't waste your time w/ this one, even Che's Wkipedia page is more exciting.