Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Seven years after his triumph in Cuba, Che winds up in Bolivia, where he tries to ignite the same revolutionary fires as before.
The second part of Soderbergh's Che diptych follows Guevara's doomed Bolivian campaign with a stark, almost documentary naturalism. The cinematography is exceptional — Soderbergh's own handheld, desaturated work in the jungle is genuinely immersive and visually distinctive. The acting, particularly Del Toro's restrained and physically committed performance, remains strong throughout. The plot, however, is intentionally repetitive and procedural — a deliberate structural choice that mirrors Che's failing campaign but renders the narrative dramatically inert for long stretches. Novelty is modest; the guerrilla-as-slow-decline formula is less singular than Part One's intercutting structure. The ending, depicting Che's capture and execution, carries quiet weight but is rendered with the same flat affect as the rest of the film, making it feel muted rather than devastating.