The Imitation Game

Turing's Pure Soul that pays special attention to the (least) interesting aspects of his destinies (and when it pays special attention it is done in the style of cliché advertising like "when he goes, we also go" or "hurray" etc.) to sideline the most important and disproportionately interesting events which is strange. As a result, Cumberbatch's performance is particularly interesting. Not so much the performance itself (though this too) as in the context of his crucial roles, when after having performed characters of Hawking, Sherlock and Assange, this is already the fourth time when he plays similar role on paper, the archetype of the role of a "odd duck" genius, without in any way (or just a gesture) repeat the same performance over and over again. (31.01.2015)

An unenthusiastic 70%. The Imitation Game is the kind of film that every Oscar season must have, a well-executed real-life story about someone exceptional. This time we have Alan Turing, genius mathematician, rather asocial weirdo, and gay. Rather than the building of Turing’s machine and the breaking of the Enigma code, I was captivated by the moral dilemma related to the impossibility to use the broken code to save lives (they could have dedicated more time to that) and the way society treated a hero who happened to be different. Overall, it’s a good film, but I liked Tyldum’s previous thriller, Headhunters, a lot more. (14.01.2015)

A beautiful and properly crafted depiction of one rather fundamental event that took place in the middle of Britain during the desolate period of World War II. Practically everything is great about it... despite the fact that encryption and Enigma have never appeared in any major interesting films that would be worth remembering and would not be boring. But along came Morten Tyldum and changed everything, along with the absolutely amazing Benedict Cumberbatch, who once again proved how great an actor he is and that Britain should consider him its national treasure. In any case, Keira Knightley is also unusually beautiful here, and I was also pleased with Charles Dance, who definitely deserves more roles in big films in his old age. Anyway, I would divide the film itself into two parts. That is, before the deciphering and after it, as before the deciphering, the suspense is on a completely different level. In terms of duration, the second part is a bit shorter. On the other hand, it is much more intense and at that moment the real emotions come. At that moment, I also realize that Alexandre Desplat’s soundtrack is fantastic. If there are any flaws in this movie then I didn’t notice them. I’d wish for Alan to meet a better end, but unfortunately that’s life for you. Especially at those times… (06.02.2015)

For this movie to be perfect, it would have to be less literal and with less Hollywood-like straightforward emotions (A Beautiful Mind), but with more British nobility and reason (Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy). If the main character were black, it would be the most formulaic movie with Academy Award ambitions ever made. Benedict Cumberbatch is, however, excellent. (17.02.2015)

I cannot criticize anything significant about the film, and, in fact, I found it appealing from beginning to end and the writer and director managed to extract the maximum from the material offered. Let's face it, solving ciphers can be the basis for an exciting novel, but a gripping film needs more than just a view of a group of scientists pondering at a desk and solving complex equations. Benedict Cumberbatch handled the role of a quirky genius with homosexual tendencies very well, as expected. The film also doesn't shy away from the moral dilemmas associated with deciding what price is still worth paying to maintain a crucial secret for victory in the war. Overall impression: 85%. (20.07.2017)