i was looking forward to these films (both part 1 and 2) but ten minutes in i was thinking 'how am i going to get through both of these films. what a slog.'. the way it was jumping back and forth and not telling a story; it was confusing and boring. but being a trooper i persevered and all for the better. once i was about 30 minutes in this film got interesting and exciting. there were moments of pure cinematic brilliance. there were moments with benicio del toro that made me want to stand up and cheer. there was a clear story and a method to the editing. the city siege in the climax was exciting, thrilling and remarkably well put together. soderbergh tells the story of che (at least part of it here) through a method that jumps back and forth through time and is sort of frame-worked through an interview he gave to american journalists. it's as if the questions asked by the journalist are the set up for the scenes. as i said earlier it all felt jumbled at the beginning but once you get used to it it starts to form a story while at the same time it shapes who che was. benicio is phenomenal here, as always. the best way to describe his performance here is that it's like he isn't even acting, at least acting for the camera. it's as if he makes a concerted effort to forget that the camera exists, as though he is on a stage and there is no audience. he really is an amazing actor and one of the best working today. soderbergh does a remarkable job with the film making a solid story out of a mass of seemingly unrelated scenes. they all come together to create a cohesive whole that is gorgeous to look at and pretty exciting at times too. again, that city siege was fantastic. the way the film pieces together the scenes seems almost like an extension or a growth of the way soderbergh first played with sound in his earlier films, with the cross cutting of dialogue in different scenes or with different people to create a mood, an atmosphere and a story from nothing but lines of dialogue. he does the same thing here but with random scenes subbed in for speech it and it really worked well creating an unconventional yet structured biopic of a man i knew next to nothing about. the films style takes some getting used to (like the overlong map of cuba as the first shot) but once you do you are in for a treat. a different kind of film, che is one that feels and looks like a big budget epic but plays like an independent art-house cinema project. i doubted the film in the beginning but i shouldn't have. i haven't yet seen a soderbergh film i didn't like and i shouldn't of been so quick to judge. this was great so now bring on part 2!!! production design: 10 out of 10 cinematography: 9 out of 10 re-playability: 6 out of 10 originality: 7 out of 10 costumes: 9 out of 10 directing: 7 out of 10 editing: 7 out of 10 acting: 10 out of 10 music: 8 out of 10 script: 7 out of 10 80/100