Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Hunky Stud So if I am not mistaken, this TV movie is produced by the people in the USA. I am already impressed by this single fact. Where else in the world, can people have the freedom to produce a movie about the enemy whom their own government is banned to have any contact with? And the USA government certainly didn't have to pre-prove this TV movie before it was broadcasted. USA is not a perfect world, but people do enjoy the freedom of expression.I don't know much about Castro, and I would like to believe that those people really made an honest movie about him. The performance is great. At first, I didn't think that Víctor Huggo Martin was a good actor, but as time goes on, I started to believe his character. I don't know where the casting director found those actors, they all speak English with an Spanish accent which made this movie a little more authentic.Since this movie is over 3 hours long, it was hard to remember what things happened in which year. I hope that when they reproduce the DVD again, they can add something extra on the screen, such as "xx years after 1953." So the audiences can know how long it has been since the the revolution started.Overall, this could be an inspiring movie. Fidel started with one single man, and he was crazy enough to believe that he can take over the whole Cuba, and he was able to inspire all the others to follow him to win the country.

Mr-Ark The first two hours of this movie are superb. There are some very strong performances all round, and the activities are well researched and offer a fairly objective view of events. Obviously, many events are skirted over in order to fit the running time, but what is shown is a fairly accurate portrayal of history. The violence in particular is extremely well done, offering a very realistic portrayal of gunfire and its consequences, instead of some needlessly flashy OTT action.The problem comes around the 2 hour mark as Castro takes power of Cuba. Suddenly, the timeline lurches drastically to try and mention important events. The films low budget shows itself up as the film spans years and events with little or no regard to objective film making. The movie is about Fidel, however, over two hours in and we suddenly cut to a very badly filmed sequence showing the death of Che Guevara. Whilst certainly an important part of Fidel's life, the narrative shift from Fidel to Che seems clunky and out of place with the rest of the film. The desire to portray Fidel in a bad light, sacrifices the characterisation of the first half of the movie, and instead offers a clumsily scripted/filmed series of events designed to show Fidel in a bad light. The film should've ended when he took power. As it is, the final hour and a half ruin an otherwise great movie.

diego-luna Just for the note, I'm not Diego Luna, that's just my nickname =PShowtime's Fidel has a good start. Terrible ending. Pretty bad for us lefties. Very yankee-made, which doesn't make the film objective at all. Lefties... be warned. Right wingers... enjoy.

Gringotec As Hemingway wrote, "A murderous tyranny pervades every village in the island". For the fool who wrote that Castro robbed Cuba of its true freedom, this was written before the popular revolution from within, not imposed from outside, which overthrew a regime so corrupt even the Mafia didn't have to break the law. Some Mafia moved to Miami, none of whom were African or mulatto. As portrayed, Batista's troops were fairly treated, as soldiers who joined because no other work was available and under corrupt officers who would rather be in the cities collecting their kickbacks. No wonder so many troops went over to the rebels! Too bad it lacked the antecedent showing Castro as the most popular politician in Cuba before the revolution -running for their Congress and hailed as a future President. Batista's 1952 coup wherein he seized power, dissolved Congress, and canceled elections rated less than a minute. Castro sued Batista for Illegal Succession! Flee Cuba? Much greater numbers flee Latin America, Mexico, Guatemala (where they have death squads) and even our Most Favored Trade partner China. They do it for economic opportunity. ONLY Cubans are allowed to remain if they make it ashore; sometimes employing people smugglers with no regard for life. U.S. Immigration grants a few hundred visas to Cubans annually, not the 20,000 and more we agreed to; Nonetheless arriving here illegally is OK. Anyone who has flown to Cuba has met Cubans aboard returning home, then seen no military presence there, and maybe noted that some Cuban cops don't even carry guns. Yes, I've been there a number of times. Don't like that? Stuff it, fool! What are fools and liars like Enrique afraid we'll see down there? Hmmm, maybe one is that they have multiple candidates for each office, need not be party members or millionaires to win, that 1/3 of the National Assembly are not party members. Ride in a cab in Cuba; you may well hear a Florida station selected on its radio. Bring T-shirts bearing logos of U.S. products, teams, and stars & stripes, even "U S Army". They make great gifts, are commonly worn, and no, fool, they don't disappear from the streets as they did in Chile.