Review of The Fifth Estate (2013) by David S — 03 Dec 2016

This one's not silly at all. This has been a good week for true stories set in 2010. The Fifth Estate is the (possibly) true story of Wikileaks and Julian Assange. The problem is the story is told by Daniel Berg, a colleague of Assange's who had a huge falling out with him.

So how much of this story is accurate? How much vitriol? What we do know is Assange and his cohorts brought banks, big businesses, and even governments to their knees by leaking sensitive documents. Documents which were largely verified.

The last hour deals with a huge leak about American military wrongdoings in Afghanistan and Iraq. The should we/shouldn't we publish debate brings the movie to a halt. A shame because Cumberbatch absolutely owns the role.

His Assange is a keeper; Daniel Bruhl (who I hadn't heard of a month ago) is terrific as Berg. Bill Condon directs with finesse and style. Making Twilight Breaking Dawn seem like a distant memory.

The final verdict? A good movie, but one with too much of an ax to grind.