Biography

BlackBerry

20232h★ 7.3

BiographyComedyDrama

The story of the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of the world's first smartphone.

Cast

Matt Johnson

Director

Jay Baruchel

Mike

Glenn Howerton

Jim

Matt Johnson

Doug

Kelly Van der Burg

Jasmine

Gregory Ambrose Calderone

Young Businessman #1

Cast

Matt Johnson

Director

Jay Baruchel

Mike

Glenn Howerton

Jim

Matt Johnson

Doug

Kelly Van der Burg

Jasmine

Gregory Ambrose Calderone

Young Businessman #1

Laura Cilevitz

Shelly

Martin Donovan

Rick Brock

JE

James Elliot Miniou

Callaghan Drummond

FM

Fuad Musayev

Derek

Ethan Eng

Ethan

MS

Michael Scott

Michael

SH

Steve Hamelin

Steve

PN

Pranay Noel

Pranay

Ben Petrie

Allan

Jinny Wong

Bank Manager

Lauren Howe

Bell Assistant

Saul Rubinek

John Woodman

Stephanie Moran

Peggy

JM

Jacquie McNish

Writer

SS

Sean Silcoff

Writer

Matt Johnson

Writer

Matthew Miller

Writer

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

Tlalane MohasoaMar 20, 2026

dpoppyMJul 16, 2024

Mounaye MbeyrikJul 16, 2024

ElisaJul 16, 2024

mrsadduDec 9, 2023

Once upon a time Blackberry dominated the business phone market, especially in the US, while Motorola dominated the personal phone market, and Nokia the international market. Along came the iPhone and pushed them off the, with none of these companies adapting well to the introduction of the iPhone given that it was only projected to take 5% of worldwide phone sales initially and many people questioned that it would do that. But this movie doesn't tell this story. Instead it crams complex engineering and corporate development stories into little vignettes, ignores the many much more popular options to the iPhone, acts like everyone knew the iPhone was going to overtake the the world. Then ultimately fails to tell the story of the inability to adapt. In fact Nokia had been providing phones with Internet and downloadable apps years before the iPhone, but only the Japanese were really smart enough to do that. But what they fail to tell us about the failure to adapt is that it impacted on everyone. For Blackberry, they would have had to redevelop their product from scratch and it was too inflexible. While Nokia failed to adapt from management, Blackberry just wasn't able to adapt. Even trying to move their secure email platform from hardware to software so it could become an iPhone app proved impossible. It is okay, this movie is entertaining enough, though starts off slow, fails to introduce or build the key characters at the beginning, and the ending is too forced. Could have been a good series or a better shorter movie. Especially given the camera style and content, it is not worth seeing in the movie theatre.

merryrianaNov 28, 2023

Blackberry (2023) I remember the days when everyone in school was using Blackberries with the cool keyboards and their BBM service. The company was ruling the market and no one could have imagined that one day not only will they lose its leadership position, but it will cease to exist altogether. The general consensus is that Blackberry became obsolete because the company failed to catch up to the smartphones and evolve in a correct way. This film tells a more complete version of the story in terms of what happened behind closed doors and the reason why everything came crashing down. The movie begins in the 90s with a Canadian company named Research in Motion trying to reinvent the mobile phone business. Their two leaders Mike and Doug have a bright vision and the scientific know-how but lack the business acumen to make their idea a reality. During one of their pitches, a man named Jim gets intrigued by their idea and decides to come on board and help get the company off the ground. As the movie progresses, we get to see both the human and the business elements of the story and how closely they come together to both build Blackberry and destroy it. This is clearly a low budget movie but it never feels second rate because of the clean and efficient way in which it tells this large story. The actors and director are rather unknown and because of that, more focus is put towards the narrative and its execution. With that being said, everyone involved puts in the effort to bring drama, humor and tension to their roles. The quick, sharp and witty nature makes it feel like a mix between Social Network and Succession as the film doesn't waste a single minute and ends when it's supposed to. Blackberry might be gone but hopefully this film will shed some light and teach a couple of lessons to those who watch it. Movieswithoutshmovies on Instagram for honest movie and tv show reviews.

Sam G JnrNov 27, 2023

There happen to be three movies out right now telling the story behind a piece of 1980s pop culture. "Air" is about the founding of the Air Jordan brand at Nike; "Tetris" is about the battle over licensing for one of the most famous games in history; and "Blackberry" is about the mega-success and eventual obsoletion of a piece of technology that was undermined by Apple. Of the three, "Blackberry" is the best. Sharp writing and direction from Matt Johnson, who also happens to turn in a terrific performance as the moral conscience of the company behind the famous hand-held device, turns this movie into a juicy and intensely entertaining story about corporate ego and competing visions. Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton also give outstanding performances, and the whole thing makes for one of the most entertaining movies I've seen yet this year. And even though I've been using an iPhone for years, nothing has made me appreciate the brilliance of Steve Jobs' invention as much as this movie, which shows why it absolutely blew the Blackberry out of the water. Grade: A.

Buboy VillarNov 27, 2023

Watching these movies about the crazy cutthroat businesses of the 80s and 90s is very entertaining. This movie was great, well acted, fast paced and fun throughout. I myself grew up during the time of the Blackberry but didn't know anything about their story, so this was a fascinating look into how crazy the tech world was at the time. The real gem of the entire movie though was the Golden God himself, Glen Howerton. I've been a fan of Always Sunmy and I'm always interested in what the cast does outside of that show. I havnt seen Glen in a serious role yet but he delivered. In Always Sunny Glen plays a sociopath who is constantly getting angry, you could tell that in Blackberry he was able to use that for his character. Glen was by far the best part of this movie, funny and intimidating all at the same time.

user531506Jul 15, 2023

BlackBerry is a 2023 film that tells the story of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry smartphone. The film is funny, heartwarming, and ultimately tragic. The film is funny because it captures the quirks and eccentricities of the people who made BlackBerry a success. Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie are two brilliant but irritable men who are determined to make their company a success. They are constantly bickering and arguing. The film is also heartwarming because it shows the passion and dedication of the people who worked at BlackBerry. They were all committed to making the best possible product, and they were willing to work long hours and make sacrifices to achieve their goals. However, the film is ultimately tragic because it shows how BlackBerry was unable to adapt to the changing marketplace. The company was slow to innovate, and it was eventually overtaken by Apple and Samsung. Despite its tragic ending, BlackBerry is a well-made film that is sure to entertain and enlighten audiences. The film is funny, heartwarming, and thought-provoking. It is a must-see for anyone who is interested in the history of technology or the human condition. Doug is the real winner in BlackBerry because he is the only one who is able to see the writing on the wall. He knows that BlackBerry is in trouble, and he tries to warn Mike and Jim. However, they are too blinded by their own success to listen. Doug is eventually forced to leave the company, but he is able to start his own successful business. BlackBerry is a cautionary tale about the dangers of hubris. It is a reminder that even the most successful companies can fall from grace if they are not willing to adapt to change.

ZompdeZompJul 1, 2023

The phone was nicknamed "Crackberry" - due to its addictive quality ... (an omen of the future of smartphones). Here, people loved the clicking of the mini keyboard and the blinking "new messages" light. It was the rage of Wall Street, Fortune 500 companies government leaders and had dedicated fans ranging from Obama to Katy Perry to Kim Kardashian. It was with this fascination that I watched "Blackberry". I wanted to know how did all of this get started and by whom? Well, the movie didn't disappoint - I'd have never guessed the people behind it and wild ride they had. The story is brisk and the characters have radically different personalities. The latter made it interesting given that they all thrown together in an increasingly high-pressure environment. My favorite character was the comic-sidekick Doug Fregin (cofounder) - he reminds me of Jonah Hill. It also turns out that he's the co-writer and director of the film itself. One thing I didn't immediately recognize was that the tech wiz / boy-wonder (Mike Lazaridis) was played by Jay Baruchel. He was the voice behind the lead character in How to Train Your Dragon. It was perfect casting. Blackberry is definitely worth a watch if the subject matter interests you. It's yet another movie demonstrating that real-life events can be just as captivating as pure fiction itself. It joins the ranks of other great tech stories inspired by true events: The Dropout (Theranos / Elizabeth Holmes), We Crashed (WeWork), Super Pumped (Uber), and Tetris (the game).