Director: Steven Soderbergh, 15, 126min

Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Demián Bichir

On general release

Soderbergh makes few concessions to the audience with his latest project - this is no sweeping, David Lean-style historical epic, nor is it an action-driven thriller. Instead, Che: Part One kicks off with an assault of dates and facts, a non-linear patchwork of glimpses of the life of Ernesto “Che” Guevara from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s.

The audience is forced to work hard to assemble all these disorientating, choppy little scenes into a coherent whole, although gradually the story does begin to take shape. Soderbergh gives us a little help by filming the later section - Che's visit to New York, during which he addresses the United Nations - in black and white, giving the material the feel of archive documentary footage. In contrast, the earlier material dealing with Che's voyage to Cuba and his part in Castro's revolution is shown in lush colour.

The film's main asset, by no small margin, is Del Toro in the title role. He not only bears an uncanny physical resemblance to the revolutionary icon, but also conveys much of Che's charisma. Del Toro is the only well-known name in the cast, the rest of whom are Spanish speakers from South and Central America and Spain. The supporting acting is solid, serious and competent, a stable foundation for Del Toro's star turn.

Che's evolution from doctor to guerrilla to revolutionary hero is pieced together well, albeit in a somewhat fractured manner. But you do feel that while Che the icon is on show in the film, Che the man remains elusive. We get a sense of his vulnerabilities through a couple of asthma sequences, but what of his well-known reputation as something of a ladies' man? While Soderbergh is not entirely in thrall to the legend of Che, this is not the most critical of portraits.

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