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The Current War

2017

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Katherine Waterston ...

5.8

2,362

Drama Three brilliant visionaries set off in a charged battle for the future in The Current War, the epic story of the cutthroat competition that literally lit up the modern world. Benedict Cumberbatch is Thomas Edison, the celebrity inventor on the verge of bringing electricity to Manhattan with his radical new DC technology. On the eve of triumph, his plans are upended by charismatic businessman George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), who ... [+]

	Media	Author	Review
		Ken Jaworowski The New York Times	"As its energetic early scenes give way to a sluggish second half, you start to sense how much better this good-enough movie might have been."
		Michael O'Sullivan The Washington Post	"[It] is packed with historical detail, but the film lacks electricity (...) [The main problem] is the sheer amount of information that the movie tries to convey (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 4)"
		Olly Richards Time Out	"The cast of this true-life period drama is one of the best of the year but the plot is entirely juiceless. An interesting story doesn’t necessarily make for an interesting film (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Rafer Guzmán Newsday	"'The Current War' works well enough as a historical overview but never quite makes us care about the people at its center."
		Jared Mobarak The Film Stage	"Despite the filmmakers investing so much time in unnecessary biopic exposition, the whole is an exciting and informative history lesson"
		Katie Walsh IndieWire	"Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon liven up a dull history lesson"
		Ignatiy Vishnevetsky AV Club	"The truth is that a movie about deeply personal obsessions can’t work if it doesn’t have some of its own, and the prevailing mood of The Current War is indifference."
		Soren Andersen Seattle Times	"The fervor and intelligence Cumberbatch and Shannon bring to their roles make for a gripping experience"
		Wendy Ide The Guardian	"Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon can’t find the vital spark in this tale of rival scientists (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Dan Jolin Empire	"Gomez-Rejon retains the visual panache he showed on Me And Earl (...) It’s just a shame the story itself isn’t told in a more direct manner, rather than via constantly alternating viewpoints (...) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Tim Robey Telegraph	"It’s finally a sense of magic that 'The Current War' lacks most (...) [It] fails to illuminate its subject at all well (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		Trevor Johnston Radio Times	"'The Current War' scores with its charismatic leads and exquisite period production design, but there remains an abiding sense that the screenplay doesn't quite get the most out of this fascinating period (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)
		Clarisse Loughrey The Independent	"A solid historical drama drowned in cinematic tricks (...) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"
		David Sexton London Evening Standard	"If you'd like to see the film this should have been (...) there's always and forever 'There Will Be Blood"

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