BlackBerry (2023)

BlackBerry (2023)

A darkly comic look at the rise and fall of the tech innovation and status symbol that was the Blackberry

7.2

Movie

Canada, Finland
English
Comedy, Drama, History
2023
MATT JOHNSON
Al Bernstein, Ben Petrie, Cary Elwes
119 min

What it's about

Two mismatched entrepreneurs – egghead innovator Mike Lazaridis and cut-throat businessman Jim Balsillie – joined forces in an endeavour that was to become a worldwide hit in little more than a decade. The story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone.

The take

Unlike other films about great inventions of a bygone era, BlackBerry isn’t nostalgic nor sentimental in the least bit. Instead, it’s chilly, calculating, and surprisingly comic (it has to be, with comedians Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton as leads). And it’s less about the brilliance of this one product than the cycle of greed, corruption, and vanity that eventually traps its too-ambitious creators. 

It's a smart film that refuses to dumb down the tech and business side of things, and what it lacks in characterization (there is little to no backstory to be found), it more than makes up for in drama and a superb pace, which propulsively and practically brings you to its wonderful peak and bleak end. Equipped with a no-nonsense yet thrilling approach to facts, BlackBerry is a refreshing entry into the biopic genre.

Comments

Add a comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

Breaking the Waves (1996)

Lars von Trier breaks his rules in the tearjerking first film of the Golden Heart trilogy

8.1

System Crasher (2019)

A tale of trauma and one of the most talked about movies on Netflix in 2020.

9.0

The Breaking Ice (2023)

Three lost souls find a warm connection in this wintry, delicate drama

7.0

Lust, Caution (2007)

A wartime spy falls for a collaborator in this erotic espionage drama

7.3

I Lost My Body (2019)

The Oscar-nominated unconventional animation

8.2

A Silent Voice (2016)

A coming-of-age movie that circles around friendship and the atonement of a boy

8.7

Problemista (2024)

Dark, weird, poignant, and funny, this debut feature by Los Espookys star Julio Torres is a modern parable of the American Dream

8.6

Cleaners (2019)

A weird and wonderful coming-of-age anthology featuring classic moments in 2000’s Philippine high schools

8.4

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.