Presented As The Fable Of A Young American Against The Entire Soviet Empire!

Rating: Null/10 (15 December 2015)

From the director of Glory, The Last Samurai & Blood Diamond, Pawn Sacrifice arrives as a consistently thrilling, wonderfully paced & ably performed picture that attempts to bring on screen the life story of the American chess prodigy, Bobby Fischer, and chronicles the rise & fall of the grandmaster who went on to redefine the game of chess like never before.
Set during the height of the Cold War, the story of Pawn Sacrifice is mainly concerned with the rivalry between Bobby Fischer & Boris Spassky, a Soviet chess wiz who was the world champion back then. The plot overviews Fischer's childhood & meteoric rise in the arena of chess that reaches its pinnacle in the 1972 World Chess Championship and also covers his descent into madness.
Directed by Edward Zwick, Pawn Sacrifice takes its time to set up the board pieces during the first act, which is then followed by Fischer showing signs of deteriorating mental health in addition to his increasing contempt & arrogance which further amplifies as the film nears its conclusion. Zwick does a neat job in bringing the brilliant screenplay to life but what the film lacks is that element which turns a good film great.
The technical aspects are finely executed. Cinematography makes good use of colour filters & changing frame rate for moments that are intended to be shown as archival footages and the camera is nicely utilised for the most part. Its 115 minutes of runtime could've used few more trims. The input from its cast is commendable, with Tobey Maguire standing out for he carries the film on his own and his confused expressions totally suited his character.
On an overall scale, Pawn Sacrifice isn't memorable by any means but it manages to keep a firm grip on the viewers' attention for the most part and also succeeds in turning a game of chess into a nail-bitingly tense affair. The plot brims with political undertones, illustrates the controversial side of Bobby Fischer and thanks to Maguire's poised input, makes us admire as well as despise the same person in equal measure. Not a great biopic by any means but definitely an entertaining one, Pawn Sacrifice is worth a shot.