What could have been an interesting docu-drama about the birth of the UK computer industry, instead turned into something unintentionally farcical.
In its efforts to create drama the film pitches Clive Sinclair as a cut-throat rogue, battling against one-time colleague Chris Curry (played by Martin Freeman). Freeman seems to be settling into being typecast into roles where he plays lovable harmless, guy next door types, and this film fits his role well.
Unfortunately, Alexander Armstrong struggles to make a convincing Clive Sinclair, no doubt hindered by the terrible prosthetic bald head/wig and ridiculous accent. Its possible the prosthetics may have prevented him from turning his head and his performance seems terribly stiff throughout. The viewer is left with an unfair impression that Sinclair was a humourless, uncharismatic maniac - flying off the handle at the slightest upset.
A lot of the comedy in the film (at least the intentional comedy) seems to come from situations which are unfortunately completely unbelievable. Clive screaming down the phone and then launching it (cordless apparently) through a door for example, or the ridiculous attempts to stall the BBC before the boffins at Acorn realise that the key issue preventing a computer from working is a huge wire that needs cutting in two.
Its a shame that the film hides the technical breakthroughs that were made in that period with mumbo-jumbo references to computer chips, and reduces the creativeness of these industry leaders to simply picking the right advertising poster to use.
In its efforts to create drama the film pitches Clive Sinclair as a cut-throat rogue, battling against one-time colleague Chris Curry (played by Martin Freeman). Freeman seems to be settling into being typecast into roles where he plays lovable harmless, guy next door types, and this film fits his role well.
Unfortunately, Alexander Armstrong struggles to make a convincing Clive Sinclair, no doubt hindered by the terrible prosthetic bald head/wig and ridiculous accent. Its possible the prosthetics may have prevented him from turning his head and his performance seems terribly stiff throughout. The viewer is left with an unfair impression that Sinclair was a humourless, uncharismatic maniac - flying off the handle at the slightest upset.
A lot of the comedy in the film (at least the intentional comedy) seems to come from situations which are unfortunately completely unbelievable. Clive screaming down the phone and then launching it (cordless apparently) through a door for example, or the ridiculous attempts to stall the BBC before the boffins at Acorn realise that the key issue preventing a computer from working is a huge wire that needs cutting in two.
Its a shame that the film hides the technical breakthroughs that were made in that period with mumbo-jumbo references to computer chips, and reduces the creativeness of these industry leaders to simply picking the right advertising poster to use.