The Current War 2017
This was a movie I wanted to see based on the subject matter, but it got pretty bad reviews and I never got around to it. I was happy to borrow it with a Screen Pass, which is good because once I picked it, I had to watch. It packs a lot in and deals with a number of familiar names, so it is easy to watch, much easier than Power of the Dog which I am struggling through on Netflix. But the subject matter is a little dry, mostly concerning Thomas Edison and J. P. Morgan pushing for DC electrification, while George Westinghouse pushes for AC, and Nikola Tesla struggles to be taken seriously. Really, the conflict could be about anything and it is just one tech giant against another, not necessarily that different from things today. I like that kind of thing, so I enjoyed the movie. Still, I would have liked to have gotten more into the details and I would like to know a little more about the real story since I‘m sure the movie made changes. Ultimately, you know AC power is going to win, and maybe even at the time it was obvious to everyone but Edison. The story touches a little on the personal life of the key characters, plus a few side characters. I liked the music and look and feel of the gilded age as these guys motor around on their private trains. One thing working in my favor is that I borrowed the director’s cut, which is a little longer and got better reviews than the original theatrical version.
Written: 02 Feb 2022