A story that gripped the world, but not the cinema...

Rating: 6/10 (18 May 2020)

This could have been a fascinating account of the troubled life of American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer - unfortunately, Tobey Maguire just couldn't quite convince me that he was that man! The well documented life of this chess genius and of his many demons is the stuff of public record, but this interpretation borders on the melodramatic just a bit too often, and the lead performance is way too one-dimensional for me to get beyond the initial reaction that he was a bit of an arse. An hugely accomplished master of his craft, but as an human being - an arse. There are flashbacks to try and give us some guidance as to the causes of his paranoia - his mother was a communist living in the USA so he genuinely believed that the FBI were listening in on him from a very early age - a neuroses that never left him - and as such his sense of trust was internally compromised and his ability to form meaningful relationships never remotely developed. Liev Schreiber - who really only features towards the very end, does indicate a bit of the grace and professionalism of arch-rival Boris Spassky but it is delivered by Edward Zwick in an almost grudging fashion - the pesky Ruskies will do just about anything to win - except, that is, play fair! It does demonstrate the effectiveness of the cold war chess battle that many of us will recall from the 1970s, but it could have been much more adventurous and less stereotyping with it's characters.