Review of The Fifth Estate (2013) by Ian G — 18 Oct 2013

A mixed bag of a film to say the least, in that it has attracted a lot of heavy hitting actors in a lot of the key roles, particularly with Laura Linney as the Clintonesque goverment worker trying to contain the leaks than Assange is trying to release, Cumberbatch as the titular character and most importantly Daniel Bruhl who is having an amazin gyear with both this film and Rush coming in quick succesion , providing great character work in both.

While providing the acting and solid information, the film seems to stumble in direction and most notably tone, seemingly cramming various influences/tones into the mix, most notably from Social Network, the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (European Version), and for the majority of the second half acting as if it is a part of the Bourne series.

It seems to suffer from not knowing what audience it seems to be aiming for and also trying to be too cool without fully succeeding. For a film that is all about timing it seems to be too rushed and a tad undercooked although the message is there.

Mixed bag and a tad frustrating for what it could have been.