Turing's machines

Rating: Null/10 (17 January 2015)

Having Cumberbatch play Turing might have been considered a stroke of genius, that might have quickly gone awry in the hands of a lesser helmer than Morten Tyldum (the director of 'Hodejegerne' / 'Headhunters', one of the most masterful thrillers of this decade - yep, it's that good), but though (or perhaps because?) I went into this one not knowing what to expect, I was more than happy to find that this was a competently made entertainer, firmly in the commercial realm though (bummer), that showcases of the more closely-held secrets of the 2nd world war, the breaking of the so- called 'Enigma' code by British academia, and holding on to that for a long time, before using it, subversively, to herald the end of the war, without (apparently) letting the Germans know that they'd broken the code.
The process though, and the machine itself, doesn't get technical, and that's a pity (with 'Interstellar' kinda doing that successfully for the LCDs among us, me included), since having a 10-minute exposition, even seemingly going over our collective heads, could've been a great value-add to this tale, and perhaps that's nit-picking, since most of the other aspects of film-making are bang-on, including the soundtrack, the CGI and the gorgeous cinematography.
This, in turn, is augmented by quite a few fantastic performances (surprise!), from Cumberbatch, Knightley, Goode, Strong (esp. so) and Dance (ordinary, but not his fault - more the screenplay's, which makes him one-note).
There are some 'gotcha' moments interspersed within, and that should not be a surprise, since it has become a commercial trope nowadays. It's the quality of the gotcha that's interestingly inconsistent, and doesn't do Tyldum's behind-the-scenes talent any justice (his own doing?).
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT for those yet to watch this:
The angst behind how many of their decisions actually make them mass-murderers, each and every one of them, was also treated, not quite refreshingly IMO, in a matter-of-fact manner, and I do not know if it was intended to showcase the monstrosity that is inherent in us all, or just the aspect that the makers could not showcase that further and risk alienating the leads further from their audience/s. However, that makes the comeuppance to the lead all the more seem like poetic justice, and the point the makers may have been trying to make against an existing intolerant society go dilute.
Therefore, while I have to applaud their including that aspect, it doesn't make for strong story-telling in hindsight.
One of the best sequences in the movie? The one between Cumberbatch and Rory Kinnear. Kinda makes us understand why the title was chosen (no spoiler there). It reminded me of the back-and-forth between Gollum and Bilbo (perhaps the highest point in the Hobbit movie- verse), though the intent and execution are markedly different.
All in all, worth your time, effort and money in making that trek to the local multiplex, on, preferably, their largest screen possible.