Because I revel in my pedantic need to detect historical inaccuracies, I must report that Soderbergh perpetuates an inaccuracy — that only 12 people survived the Granma landing — that was "institutionalized" as revolutionary myth by Castro in a heavy-handed alignment with Christ's number of disciples, Castro as the Messiah and Che, Camilo, and the others as his disciples.
It is one of several Hollywood-style historical mistakes in the film. Another one is showing Vilma Espin, the upper class Communist daughter of a Bacardi executive, as one of the original rebels in the mountains. Espin, who eventually married Raul Castro, was an urban anti-Batista fighter in the streets of Santiago, fighting under Frank Pais, not Fidel Castro. Pais was strongly anti-Communist and thus presented a direct leadership challenge to Castro. Of interest, a persistent rumor blames Espin as the traitor responsible for Pais' death at the hands of the Batista police. After the Revolution triumphed, several Communists were shot for being Batista police informants.
Benicio del Toro plays a very convincing Che, and he will probably be rewarded with Oscar nominations for this mythical role. He is excellent in preserving the charismatic and "good" side of Che, but little attention is paid by del Toro (we must assume because of Soderbergh) to the brutal, dark side of Che and his important part in institutionalizing a bloody, repressive regime after the Revolutionary triumph.
Soderbergh delivers Che as a champion of the poor, the illiterate, the peasants, and the meek. Even a light reading of Che's own writing and memoirs would reveal that this simplistic offering of this highly complex figure is incomplete and perhaps even dishonest. A more balanced approach should have included the Guevara who was judge, juror, and executioner, and the inexperienced Guevara who helped to destroy the Cuban middle class, the island's business infrastructure, and its agricultural base.
Mexican actor Demian Bichir does a very decent Castro, with an excellent mimic of Castro's odd way of speaking. One pedantic issue is the actor's height, which is about the same as del Toro, while the true Fidel Castro used his towering height to his advantage when addressing his subordinates. The film also fails to explore the conflicts between Che and the Castro brothers. Furthermore, the reasons for Che's departure for Cuba are not explored at all.
Dariel Alarcon Ramirez (a Cuban with stellar revolutionary credentials who joined the rebels in 1956 and then followed Guevara to Bolivia) claims that Che "left Cuba after being accused of being a Trotskist and a Maoist... and because of the problems he had with the Cuban government, specifically Fidel and Raul Castro."
One supporting actor who steals the limelight in almost every scene that he's in is Venezuelan actor Santiago Cabrera, who plays the immense part of Camilo Cienfuegos, the charismatic, joking, womanizing, and exceptionally loved Comandante of the Cuban Revolution.
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