"The Imitation Game" fully utilizes the medium of film to nearly perfect effect.

Rating: 9/10 (2 January 2015)

"The Imitation Game" is an Original
The only complaint I have about "The Imitation Game" is the title of the movie. It's off-putting and doesn't give prospective viewers any idea what the film is about. "The Imitation Game" was the name of a mind-game the protagonist, math genius Alan Turing, played to learn about people. But the movie isn't about that game. It's about breaking the Nazi Germany Enigma code and the struggles Turing and his team go through to solve the code. Better names for the movie would be:
"Breaking the Nazi Code" (or just "Breaking the Code" which would have a double meaning for the film) "Decoding the Nazi War Machine" "Beating Nazis at its Code Game" "Nerds Take Down the Nazis" "Take that Enigma!" "No more Heil to Hitler"
Okay, some of those were serious, others not. The truth is, this is an excellent film, what great films can be, and I am worried the title will keep away viewers.
It is a historical costume drama, and the English are often very good at that. The acting is superb, especially Cumberbatch. There are few false notes. That is to the acting and also an excellent script. The writers were able to propel the drama with the dialogue and put in some humour that allows us to learn about the characters along the way. No scene was added just to be dramatic; they all had duel purposes whether telling us about the relationships of the characters or demonstrating their struggles while continuing to lay out the plot.
Of course the sets, edits and lighting were excellent; they had the budget to pull it off. The musical score is good and seldom noticed; the director didn't need to employ over-wrought music to force us have emotions. The drama spoke for itself.
"The Imitation Game" was able to do what "The Theory of Everything" struggled with. First, there are three different time periods in "The Imitation Game" and the edits and transition back and forth between those periods are nearly flawlessly. "Theory" struggles with that. Also, "Imitation" showed us different aspects of Turing's life, personal, scientific, work, as parts of a whole without leaving us with nagging, unanswered questions. "Theory" was not nearly as good at that. Both films have stellar acting and plenty of nerd appeal, but if you can see only one, see "Imitation." It is a much more human film where the emotion didn't play as false. Both are worth watching.
Rating: Pay full price, see it twice.
This may be the first time I have given a non-documentary full ratings. One of best aspects of the film is that war is not glorified while the need to defeat Hitler was made imperative. The film doesn't shy away from the British government's bigotry (and that of many people), hypocrisy and the tough choices the people who broke the Enigma code had to face. The film doesn't wallow in the tragedy like an after-school special, but it shows the warts and ugliness Turing had to face in mid-century England while breaking the "impossible" puzzle of Enigma.
Peace, Tex Shelters