Pawn Sacrifice

2014 biopic

Rating: 14/20

Plot: The same story told in this documentary.

And Bobby Fischer Against the World probably tells the story a little better actually. It's the way I feel about The Walk, a movie I've not seen, and Man on Wire. The cinematic retellings of the stories seem a little extraneous. I didn't not like this movie, but you're not going to gain insight about the nutcase that was Bobby Fischer, the Cold War, or the chess match in Iceland that serves as a microcosm for that conflict between the Commies and us good guys. It seems to revel in showcasing all of Fischer's warts, but at least the chess looks real. That's always important to me with these chess movies.

I liked the performances. Tobey Maguire's solid although there are times when his Fischer seems a little overcooked. Schreiber's not supposed to stand out as Boris Spassky, but it really does seem like the real 1970's Boris Spassky time-traveled in order to play himself in this.

Chess action sequences are handled well although I would have been a little more near the edge of my seat if I didn't know a lot of the Spassky/Fischer games inside-out and know the story through the aforementioned documentary and the book, Bobby Fischer Goes to War. I wouldn't tell anybody interested in the story to not watch this, however, as the story's got plenty of tension and is told accurately.