Finally, a decent movie that didn't bore to tears. Against such a weak field, that may be giving "The Imitation Game" more credit than it deserves, but at least I wasn't squirming in my seat praying for the movie to end. High praise indeed….
Another World War II movie period piece, but the subject matter appeals to a WWII history buff like me, but is generally interesting enough for the average person to enjoy. During the war, Germany made amazing advances in military applications, everything from rockets to encryption. They created a machine known as Enigma that was basically their version of SAP at the time. This machine was so advanced and thought to be unbreakable in encryption, Germany used it for all of its communications. Attacks, military intel, everything was encrypted on a daily basis and the Allies spent years trying to break the encryption. Enter Alan Turing.
Alan (Benedict Cumberpatch) plays a mathematician recruited by British MI6 (then so secret, it only went up to MI5) to crack the Enigma. He is part of a team that includes Keira Knightley, a woman that loves to solve crossword puzzles. Everyone on the team is racing time, and Alan's idea is to create a counter-computer, one that can decrypt Enigma's daily messages. But Alan has a secret…
No spoiler alerts here, and at first, the movie is kind of confusing only because it tells the tale in a non-linear fashion, but unlike most movies, the period of time involved is only a few years. So Alan's appearance is not so dramatically different that you can actually tell what period he is in, especially the post-war period. But the subplot involves other characters, so once you see the other characters, then you will understand where he is and at what stage in life he is enduring.
Enduring is a good word to use to describe his life; it is based on the true story behind Turing's life and also the war. Sad to say, there is a slew of World War II movies out there right now, and when the update captions roll right before the end of any movie, audiences are usually stunned and disappointed to find that our heroes rarely see justice. This movie is no exception, and to avoid any spoilers, I will just say that overall, this movie does not disappoint. There is a certain familiarity with the movie, but it has enough surprises and drama to keep you engaged, but not on the edge of your seat. But that's good enough for me to give this movie a solid 83 points out of 100.
