Movie review
February 13, 2023 · 120 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for BlackBerry.
Woke representation / casting
Lead roles use white male actors that match the real Canadian tech founders and executives of the era; any background diversity stays incidental and unemphasized with no signaling or quota-style choices.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays on product development, business deals, technical problems, and personal ambition with zero activist, social-justice, or identity content.
Identity-driven story themes
Plot and arcs follow classic entrepreneurship, rivalry, hubris, and market failure in a historical tech setting with no identity politics or social-justice messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Shows corporate greed and executive mistakes driving both success and downfall in a capitalist tech world, presented as individual character flaws rather than modern activist systemic attack.
Review
BlackBerry is a 2023 Canadian biographical comedy-drama that follows engineer Mike Lazaridis and businessman Jim Balsillie as they build Research In Motion into a global success with the first widely used smartphone before its rapid collapse against Apple and Android. The film uses fast dialogue, strong performances, and dark humor to explore ambition, innovation, friendship, and cutthroat corporate competition in the late 1990s and early 2000s tech world. The story stays tightly focused on the characters’ personal flaws and business decisions with no visible identity themes or activist framing.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. Dramatizes real people and events with narrative liberties for comedy but introduces no identity or DEI-driven alterations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
No anti-woke or right-leaning complaints exist; all debate stays on entertainment value and minor accuracy issues.
Creator track record context
Matt Johnson supported broader access for emerging Canadian filmmakers via Telefilm’s Talent to Watch program (mild liberal industry view); his films and this project avoid identity-driven themes, while book authors and other writers show no political patterns.
Production
