Excellent. Very well done!

Rating: 9/10 (19 January 2015)

Absolutely loved this drama about the brilliant Alan Turing and the "Enigma" he and his team of mathematicians decoded during World War II. I had never heard of Turing before and was reluctant to see the movie because I expected it to have a dream-like quality similar to Inception or The Adjustment Bureau. However, it was like neither, as it showed realistically the story of how this man, along with his team of fellow mathematicians, broke the Nazi code and helped the British government decipher German communiques. Along the way there are twists and turns that continue to keep our attention. Benedict Cumberbatch is, of course, spot on as the uniquely gifted Turing, who shows signs of promise from a young age, even though he is seen as a misfit among his peers. The movie does a good job of moving among three time periods in order to tell a fuller story of Turing's life. Throughout, we root for Turing, both in his work and in his personal life.
Keira Knightley is very impressive. I have never been much of a fan of hers, but here she is very likable and a great foil for Cumberbatch. Allen Leech of Downton Abbey fame plays a minor supporting character, but doesn't really stand out. I am always a fan of a great group of supporting characters and love to see how they interact and add to a story, but the team of mathematicians here could have been utilized a bit more.
I give this movie a 9 (as opposed to 10) for two main reasons in addition to what is mentioned above: 1) the story line taking place in 1951 is a little bit unclear to me as the main detective attempts to solve a crime involving Turing; and, 2) Turing is a homosexual, and the director does a politically correct job of ensuring the audience knows exactly what he thinks about the British government's treatment of homosexuals in the middle of the 20th century, not really adding to the overall story and ending on a slightly bitter note. Really unnecessary at the end of this amazing story of an amazing man who dramatically changed the outcome of the war and whose story that same director told with such skill. The Imitation Game is highly recommended.