One of the biggest box office failure of 2013,
is this movie any good?
The Fifth Estate is a 2013 film based off of Julian Assange's
Wikileaks activities. Assange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is a
paranoid narcissist who has found solace in fighting for complete
transparency with government agencies and large corporations. Despite
the fact that Assange is not a decent human being, he does in fact
accomplish great things, no matter how controversial they may be,
which sort of is the point of the film.
The Fifth Estate suffers from the same troubles Jobs does; they didn't
do their research accurately. Instead of interviewing Assange or
structuring it off of first-hand source material, it is extremely
obvious that they turned to focus groups. The only contact Dreamworks
had with tge real-life Assange was in an e-mail sent by Benedict
Cumberbatch, in which the real-life Assange wisely advised him to turn
down the role, citing the fact that Dreamworks did not have the
ability to create an accurate script.
He was absolutely right.
The script is riddled with inaccuracies. A great deal of this
information is merely speculation in how WikiLeaks operated,
particularly in the early years. What Dreamworks should have consulted
Assange on, they've guessed, making the film loose much credibility.
Despite this, it works as a film. Cumberbatch as always does great.
His supporting cast, sporting names such as Capaldi, gives him much to
work with. The story is captivating, and the director's unique
stylistic choices work. He borrows much from Sherlock, another work
set in present day, but information flies off the screen so quickly
that you'll probably miss them the first time.
Wikileaks activities. Assange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, is a
paranoid narcissist who has found solace in fighting for complete
transparency with government agencies and large corporations. Despite
the fact that Assange is not a decent human being, he does in fact
accomplish great things, no matter how controversial they may be,
which sort of is the point of the film.
The Fifth Estate suffers from the same troubles Jobs does; they didn't
do their research accurately. Instead of interviewing Assange or
structuring it off of first-hand source material, it is extremely
obvious that they turned to focus groups. The only contact Dreamworks
had with tge real-life Assange was in an e-mail sent by Benedict
Cumberbatch, in which the real-life Assange wisely advised him to turn
down the role, citing the fact that Dreamworks did not have the
ability to create an accurate script.
He was absolutely right.
The script is riddled with inaccuracies. A great deal of this
information is merely speculation in how WikiLeaks operated,
particularly in the early years. What Dreamworks should have consulted
Assange on, they've guessed, making the film loose much credibility.
Despite this, it works as a film. Cumberbatch as always does great.
His supporting cast, sporting names such as Capaldi, gives him much to
work with. The story is captivating, and the director's unique
stylistic choices work. He borrows much from Sherlock, another work
set in present day, but information flies off the screen so quickly
that you'll probably miss them the first time.
It may not be accurate and clearly was a cash-grab (That sure worked- CW)
for Dreamworks, but it certainly works as a film. As a piece of entertainment,
that's all it needs to be. It's inaccuracies should not reduce
a film's score if it does not take away from the quality of a film.
The Fifth Estate gets 4 stars out of 6.
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