THE CURRENT WAR

Edison had the brains, the fame, the ego and the shady business tactics. Westinghouse had the money, the smarts, the overly-supportive wife and the humility to strive for a legacy and to leave a positive mark on the world over wealth and fame. And poor Tesla had the genius, the wisdom and the desperate need to be heard. Oh, what they could have accomplished working together instead of becoming enemies. While a fascinating story, 'The Current War' doesn't quite have the goods to captivate the cinema-going audience. Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon ('Me and Earl and the Dying Girl') along with his DoP Chung-hoon Chung ('It') have created a very beautiful, crisp, rich-looking world. Every frame is visually interesting, even modern-looking with a hint of Baz Luhrmann - anything to keep you engaged as the players yammer on about natural gas, direct currents, alternating currents, copper wires, motors and a lot of talk about bulbs. Men and their bulbs - am I right!? The story is there, but we're not talking about the merits of a simple yarn here; this is a film, not a pitch for a good read. The story is too complicated as it deals with politics, dominance over an entire country, egos and ethics - you don't just see the glossing over of important and detailed information, you can feel it too. There are just too many "Wait, did I miss something?" moments as the film bounces along like a car on a dirt road.

In another case of "when bad movies happen to great actors", 'The Current War' has all the elements for a great picture including its exceptional cast, but lacks the base appeal for the people who have to buy a ticket. Sadly, this is a rare and unfortunate case of the sum of the film's parts being greater than the whole.