Micro Men (2009)

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Best movie ever!

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Micro Men is an enjoyable docu-drama about the early days of the home computer revolution. As I was there at the time reading computing magazines avidly and typing out the printed programmes which never worked because of typos, this was avid viewing.Its Sinclair versus Acorn. Although you would never from this film would realise Clive Sinclair was better known as Uncle Clive, the genial, nerdy 1970s whiz kid who built cheap home computers with dead flesh keyboards. The Acorn boys on the other hand built more stylish computers with proper keyboards and they even got the contract for the BBC computer.In this drama, Clive Sinclair (Alexander Armstrong) is seen as a bad tempered bully (he was never regarded as such a person at the time, although he was later revealed to be a bit of ladies man, loved a flutter at the Vegas casinos and voted Tory.) Chris Curry of Acorn (Martin Freeman) is the more lovable one. The nice, genial one with his more business headed Austrian partner.The early 1980s when British companies led the world of home computing although Microsoft had plans for a uniform operating system. Pitching Acorn v Sinclair helped with archive footage is a great history lesson and drama. Unfortunately, both companies were also left picking up the pieces afterwards as Microsoft surpassed them a few years later.

Havily simplified, to the point of absurdity.Clive is shown as a clown. They have shown his eccentric sides without representing his ingenuity. He is no mental slouch by any means.Real dynamics around Sinclair Research was far more colorful.Cliwe did not stick with C5 because he just couldn't see its flaws but because he was desperately trying to push it to some point where he could hit some market niche and make some money off it. Anyone that has ever done some electronic projects, sold them and lived off that profit will tell you that sometimes you have to get creative to put bread on the table and some projects you do in some arrangements for the money.Sinclair Research was not exception, rather the opposite.

Thanks for such a great piece of entertainment. There were lots of funny bits in this film, largely due to the acting of Sinclair. It was also light-hearted with a feel good factor at the end with people making up to each other and with Sinclairs quotes about life - "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?".Some great 80's music as well.Even if you were'nt into home computers at the time, then this is still a good drama.

I watched this single piece drama last night on BBC4 and thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish.All the actors did a fine job and convinced - despite Mr Armstrong's (Sinclair) rather obvious makeover for the role. The mixture of archive footage and new filming hit a balance that was enjoyable.The programme addresses the beginnings of the Home Computer industry in the UK and the roles & rivalries of Sinclair and Acorn in those early days. For those of us of a certain age it was extremely nostalgic stuff (even though I ended up getting a CBM 64)! A mixture of reality, light comedy and invention (some scenes were 'invented' according to the titles) kept me engrossed and actually rather disappointed that it had finished so soon; I think a 2 part show would have kept me interested.Some of the most fascinating stuff for me was a reminder of some of the side issues, for instance the UK general public's initial reaction to the technology - those of us who bought them were considered 'hobbyists' at the time. However, on reflection possibly the most important side- effect was the fact that a public organisation like the BBC was allowed to pursue the making of its own branded model in an attempt to raise the nation's computer literacy above other's. The BBC model B sold widely in schools, this combined with the home market growth must surely have contributed enormously to the strength of the UK programming industry (of which I was part) in the formative years. Whilst never rivalling IBM and HP in the end (as poignantly if somewhat mawkishly shown in the final scenes) this era and the people involved, must be considered as a time which generated huge revenue for the UK as well as a great platform for the public to get to grips with computers. Our programmers are still regarded as some of the world's most creative, despite financial difficulties; and this period ensured that as a nation we are not only regarded for older, but venerable, media such as the pop music & individual greatness in film & drama.Highly entertaining as a drama, thought provoking if you care about the beginnings of the industry; I was entertained and amused throughout. Recommended.