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2

foxgroveOct 18, 2013

As Benedict Cumberbatch playing Julian Assange states during the course of this tedious Wiki leaks drama 'It's amazing that someone can speak for 10 minutes and say absolutely nothing'. This moment of insight sums up my reaction to thisAs Benedict Cumberbatch playing Julian Assange states during the course of this tedious Wiki leaks drama 'It's amazing that someone can speak for 10 minutes and say absolutely nothing'. This moment of insight sums up my reaction to this pompous and self congratulatory film, only instead of 10 minutes substitute about 90!
The film starts slowly and never engagingly hooks the interest and the unfolding is confused and confusing for anyone not familiar with the case. The dialogue alternates between the banal and the pretentious and there is really just too much going on. I don't know how accurate the performances are but they provide little in way of compensation.

When we get to the film's raison d'etre, the publication of thousands of government cables, interest is raised slightly, but by this point (around the 90 minute mark?) news of the missed opportunity that the film undoubtedly is has already been leaked.… Expand

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

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7

TVJerryOct 19, 2013

Although you'd expect this to be all about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), it spends equal time on the involvement of early collaborator Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl). The story follows the growth and influenceAlthough you'd expect this to be all about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), it spends equal time on the involvement of early collaborator Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl). The story follows the growth and influence of the site thru its most significant releases and their consequences. Since it's directed by Bill Condon you can expect exceptional performances all around. Cumberbatch's creation of Assange is compelling and totally believable. Toss in lots of cool locations, interesting cinematography, edgy music and cool graphic treatments. The pace never lags and actually manages to build some tension. This films offers an interesting background packaged into a well-made, engaging upload.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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1

chrisvbOct 18, 2013

terrible movie. not interesting at all. Tries to hype a situation and make a lot of political statements. Not worth the time it takes to watch. Terrible.

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

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0

KadeemluvmusicOct 20, 2013

I don't know why you wanna call this a WikiLeak movie, unfortunately for The Fifth Estate, it's not gonna get any Oscars for this mess. Benedict Cumberbatch should've even be playing a hacking founder of WikiLeaks and said "The got hisI don't know why you wanna call this a WikiLeak movie, unfortunately for The Fifth Estate, it's not gonna get any Oscars for this mess. Benedict Cumberbatch should've even be playing a hacking founder of WikiLeaks and said "The got his back." Unfortunately for him, this will be the only movie you should not see. It's a bomb, for real. One of the worst movies of 2013 so far.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

Mike_MOct 18, 2013

Without a strong overall opinion for or against WikiLeaks or Assange, and without much knowledge of the situation, I went into this film open to it as a piece of filmmaking and not as a fact-checker. As a film, it's quite mediocre. TheWithout a strong overall opinion for or against WikiLeaks or Assange, and without much knowledge of the situation, I went into this film open to it as a piece of filmmaking and not as a fact-checker. As a film, it's quite mediocre. The worst part, in fact the single part I could point to in suggesting that you all stay away in droves is this: The film visually depicts some sort of virtual office space that Assange and Berg inhabit in parts of the movie dealing with some of their online interactions. It's something so hokey in 2013 that I'm more or less in disbelief that the director tried it.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

ProstheticsOct 18, 2013

Had potential to be huge, but falls short. Still worth viewing though.

The start of the film is fast paced and very difficult to focus. There are metaphors/symbolism used quite a bit through the start of the movie (and through the end)Had potential to be huge, but falls short. Still worth viewing though.

The start of the film is fast paced and very difficult to focus. There are metaphors/symbolism used quite a bit through the start of the movie (and through the end) that are not fully understood until about 1/3 or 1/2 through the movie (an office filled with Assanges, which represents how, when Wikileaks was making a name for itself, people thought it had hundreds of people working on it, but all of them were Assange himself with different aliases), which left me with a half-baked understanding of the point what was trying to be made. Once the film did finally start getting rolling, again about 1/3 or 1/2 through, it was great, but harkening back to that first part of the movie, it could be been done much better.

The movie also had great potential to send a message throughout, but the filmmakers chose to remain neutral as a whole, leaving the only person preaching the points to be Assange himself in the movie. So many messages could have been pushed through, but I suppose the need to remain neutral for mass appeal outweighed that. Only at the very end of the movie does a clear message come forth, when the Assange character is addressing you, the viewer, directly.

So my main qualms with the movie are that it was a train wreck to get the plot set up, and no clear message came with the movie.… Expand