Innovation and the celebration of genius are all the rage in today’s fast-paced changing world, where technology is king. The inspiration comes in many forms: the late Steve Jobs, Neil deGrasse Tyson, TED Talks, memoirs, novels, and TV shows. A common factor here is how trailblazers are marketed as 21^st-century rock stars, with accessible but addictive phrases such as, “Only one could power the world.”That tagline belongs to the phenomenon’s latest addition: The Current War.

In the late 1880s, famous inventor Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch), mogul George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), and Serbian visionary Nikolai Tesla (Nicholas Hoult) headline the competition to be the first in bringing electrical power to America. Edison, an ambitious workaholic, believes he can achieve the feat of powering Manhattan by developing direct current (DC) with his assistant Samuel Insull (Tom Holland). The calm, business-savvy Westinghouse, on the other hand, challenges that idea by introducing alternating current (AC), which he claims can work over longer distances and also on motors; AC is additionally cheaper to create.

With the upcoming opportunity to illuminate Chicago’s 1893 World Fair, the feud turns ugly as Edison looks for different ways to prove to the public his competitor’s alternating current is hazardous. The dirty rivalry is defined by Edison slandering Westinghouse in the press with immoral deeds, such as Edison’s release of the controversial electric chair, which includes purposely added Westinghouse generators. Westinghouse, though, finds a secret weapon in Tesla, who helps him advance his hypothesis.

Originally set to be released in 2017 under the now-defunct Weinstein Company, The Current War was shelved amid the scandal surrounding Harvey Weinstein (thus, the Director’s Cut subtitle, after going through numerous revisions) and eventually bought by a new entertainment entity, 101 Studios; this period piece is its first release.

Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, the film has everything going for it: lavish costume design, gorgeous set pieces, and attention to detail, but it could’ve benefited from a slower editing rhythm; viewers should have been able to digest what they have just seen, instead of being presented with rapid facts as the story line moves on to the next scene. Although nice touches give the movie sociological depth, such as the re-creation of old Chicago, there’s still too much information for the audience to take in.

One can’t help but wonder if there was pressure to make a wide release director’s cut shorter for general filmgoers or if the editing was meant to convey a fast race. At times, it seems like director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon was trying to mirror Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige (2006), with photography that is grandiose and memorable.

Nevertheless, the cast is impressive. Cumberbatch brings meticulous details to a cold greedy Edison we have never seen before, and Shannon, with his confident demeanor and smooth voice, portrays Westinghouse as the ideal bold tycoon. Holland stands out as the humble but ethical Insull; his chemistry with Cumberbatch makes him a memorable supporting character, though the true scene stealer is Hoult as the shy and quirky Tesla.

Even if some of the events stated are not entirely accurate (such as AC not existing before Westinghouse) and the film comes off as a mixed bag, it nonetheless is a notable debut for its distributor.