Originally released in 2017 to follow the success of other historical scientific dramas such as ‘The Imitation Game’ and ‘The Theory of Everything’, The Current War opened to dreary reviews from Toronto Film festival. It was ultimately shelved following the collapse of the Weinstein Company during the allegations made against its then co- owner. 2 years later and with a few additional scenes and editing from the original cast and Director, the film has finally been released to the public.
On paper the film looks to be a sure-fire success. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as the famed inventor Thomas Edison who goes head to head with gas heavy weight George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon) in a bid to bring electricity to America. With supporting acts from Tom Holland and Nicholas Hoult, the current war looks to capture one of the most defining scientific moments in recent history. However, its biggest problem is that the storyline is quite bland.
What ‘Imitation Game’ and ‘Theory of Everything’ did so brilliantly was to focus on a human element to each of its main characters and cut through a lot of the scientific development that would fly over the head of the average cinema goer. The current war however has little to no human story in it, with characters being under developed and hollow. The rivalry itself feels very bland with the two competitors hardly interacting with each other in any capacity. There are a few time jumps where the consequences of actions, whilst spoken about, seem to have little to no impact on the lifestyle and ongoing operations of these two great men. Ultimately whilst we are compelled to care about this battle, nothing seems to really happen.
The film does have some nice set pieces and the design, costumes etc fit the large budget and size of the production but otherwise the film has very little to offer. Cumberbatch and Shannon provide solid, if a little underwhelming, performances and the rest of the cast have next to nothing to work with.
Overall a disappointing and frankly bland scientific historical drama that serves little purpose to the career of its all star cast and could have quite happily stayed forgotten on Mr Weinstein’s shelves.
Written by Will
Hughes Reviews 