English mathematician and logician, Alan Turing, helps crack the Enigma code during World War II.
Turing is a tougher role to play than it might once have been, but Cumberbatch burrows beneath the surface to reveal someone with machine-like logic locked in a soulful struggle against an inhuman society.
The Imitation Game is well-acted and well-crafted but it lacks both Turing’s daring, and his singularity of mind.
A finely etched character study, with Cumberbatch on towering form. Set coordinates for the Oscars.
A superb thriller and a worthy biopic of a real hero. It’s also simultaneously an encouraging follow-up for Headhunters’ Morten Tyldum, an impressive debut for screenwriter Graham Moore, and a big-screen career highlight for Benedict Cumberbatch.
Perfectly decent... but that's the problem.
Despite its flaws, The Imitation Game watchably recreates one of Britain’s finest hours, and one of its most shameful.
Amounts to less than it should but still worth a jaunt.
The Imitation Game does justice to a great British hero and a story of incredible triumph against impossible odds.
For all the ingenuity of its structure, the film itself is sometimes sketchy and superficial. What it does do emphatically, though, is make the case for Turing as a very British kind of hero.
A large part of its success in this respect is down to Benedict Cumberbatch’s skilled performance as Turing.
Benedict Cumberbatch’s excellent performance gives added complexity to a fine account of the life of codebreaker Alan Turing.
A solid piece of audience-friendly filmmaking, and while some have complained that it offers a conventional portrait of an unconventional individual, the positives outweigh the negatives.
Alan Turing's name restored with film about his work, life and identity
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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