The Imitation Game is one of the best World War II movies I have ever seen. This had a really weird release here in the UK, so much so that when it was released I was not able to catch it in theatres. I kind of forgot about it until my grandfather of all people highly recommended it to me and bless his heart sent me his DVD of it through the mail, even though I had already ordered the Blu-Ray.
How to Download The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game was released on November 28, 2014. You can download or stream the film from a digital platform. Click on the Download button at the end of this review and make your choice.
The Movie Review
I will admit the story of Alan Turning was not something I was all that familiar with. Growing up in the UK we did a lot in history class about World War II, but most of the events in this movie were new to me. While it is a biographical kind of movie, it is actually a fantastic war thriller that has some truly outstanding performances.
Benedict Cumberbatch plays the main role of Alan Turning and it is stuff like this that makes people love his work. The more I think about it, the more this might be the most amazing Benedict Cumberbatch performance that I have seen. He is just so believable and so compelling in this movie, he captivates you each time he is on the screen, even if he is not the most likable character in some scenes.
The Engaging Cast and Plot of The Imitation Game
The Imitation Game also has a great supporting cast. I will admit I am not the biggest fan of Keira Knightly, but she is great here. The story is about the Nazi Enigma Machine that allows the Nazis to send coded messages. The Enigma Machine resets every day making cracking the code near impossible, but that is where cryptography expert Alan Turning comes into play.
Alan has a genius way of combating this so that the Allies can intercept the Nazi messages so that they can have an advantage in the war. However, getting the green light and the funding to do this is not as straightforward as you would think. Alan is not an easy man to work with and he is hiding a secret from those above him and those who think they really know him.
Exploring the Personal and Historical Impact of The Imitation Game
While the work on decrypting the codes that the Enigma Machine makes is what you would probably say the movie is about. There is far more than that going on here. The stuff with Alan’s personal life and what happened to him after the war is rather brutal. As is the stuff with Alan and Joan. To be honest, some of it is hard to watch and it is crazy to think that being gay was such a big deal and so taboo back then.
One part of the movie I thought was executed very well was how it shows the darker side of war where tough decisions have to be made, decisions that can cost our own soldiers their lives. Without a doubt the work that Alan Turning does saved millions of lives and because of that he is a hero and a key part of the war effort, but the movie does not shy away from showing the hard and brutal decisions that had to be made as well.
Final Thoughts
I am so glad that I finally got around to watching The Imitation Game. It is such a fantastic story that is brought to life so incredibly well. I need to watch this again at some point as even though I had the Blu-Ray, I had to watch my grandfather’s DVD as he was so excited to share it with me. If you want a different kind of World War II movie, I cannot recommend this highly enough.
