palavitsinis Two of my favorite actors as of late. A really nice movie. Although I cannot actually verify the truthfulness of it all, it was overall a nice script with lots of intense moments and most of all, based on parts of a true story. From my part, I really liked Julian Assange. Truth, there is lots of controversy on what's narrated on the movie but I really enjoyed this character. The story of Wikileaks is really deeper than that and needs a lot of reading if you're going to come anywhere near figuring what has happened but this movie was really pleasant to watch. Would not go higher than 8 but also no less than 7.5. I am not sure why it's so low on IMDb, my guess is that's because of the controversial content that seems somewhat biased on one side. Anyway, a really nice movie to watch and one of these thrillers that really thrill!

Cinefill1 -The Fifth Estate is a 2013 thriller film directed by Bill Condon, about the news-leaking website WikiLeaks. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as its editor-in-chief and founder Julian Assange, and Daniel Brühl as its former spokesperson Daniel Domscheit-Berg Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Alicia Vikander, Stanley Tucci, and Laura Linney are featured in supporting roles. The film's screenplay was written by Josh Singer based in-part on Domscheit-Berg's book Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange and the World's Most Dangerous Website (2011), as well as WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy (2011) by British journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding. The film's name is a term used to describe the people who operate in the manner of journalists outside the normal constraints imposed on the mainstream media. -Co-produced by DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media, The Fifth Estate premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival,and was released in theaters by Touchstone Pictures in the United States on October 18, 2013, with international distribution divided among Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, and independent arrangements by Mister Smith Entertainment.The film performed poorly at the box office and garnered mixed critical reaction, receiving criticism for its screenplay and direction; however, praise was given on the acting, particularly Cumberbatch's performance.Julian Assange has described the film as a "massive propaganda attack", he did discuss the film with Benedict Cumberbatch, with Cumberbatch claiming that he's "personally supportive" of the organization.Critical response:-The Fifth Estate received mixed reviews from film critics. The film currently holds a 37% approval rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 163 reviews with an average rating of 5.4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Heavy on detail and melodrama but missing the spark from its remarkable real-life inspiration, The Fifth Estate mostly serves as a middling showcase for Benedict Cumberbatch's remarkable talent." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from critics, the film has a score of 49 based on 42 reviews, indicating "mixed to average" reception. It received an average grade of "B" from market-research firm CinemaScore. Despite the film's mixed reception, Benedict Cumberbatch's performance as Assange has received much praise.

chris I did know a brief bit about wikileaks from reading in the news but not really much behind the beginnings of it and the people behind it. From this perspective I did find many parts of the movie interesting. I also did enjoy some of the acting performances. I thought Daniel Bruhl was great - and is an actor I enjoy watching. Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Julian Assange is as a boring, selfish and egotistic man. I'm not sure what it was but just felt that the movie lacked something. Maybe it's that the story on the face of it seemed quite exciting. The conspiratorial nature of leaking and exposing secret documents is an exciting concept. However underneath the initially exciting concept there seemed to be a lack of real depth or substance. Maybe this is because there is no real story to unearth. Or maybe this portrayal is another way for the powers that be to discredit Assange? Who knows? Definitely watchable. Some good acting. Some interesting insights. No excitement. No substance.

brchthethird Benedict Cumberbatch, bless his heart, is a great actor and he does a perfectly serviceable portrayal of Julian Assange, but the movie itself commits the cardinal sin of making what could have been a riveting narrative a dull and plodding slog of a film. THE FIFTH ESTATE is about how WikiLeaks got started and covers some of their biggest leaks up to the release of the Afghanistan and Iraq war logs. Most of the focus is on the relationship between Daniel Berg (Daniel Bruhl) and Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and how they have a falling out. While this might have been a critical part of the WikiLeaks story, the way it played out on screen didn't exactly make for the most compelling drama. There were also some detours into Berg's personal life as well a limited international look at the effect these leaks had in various countries, to include the US. Still, I had hopes that this movie would be this generation's equivalent of something like THE PRESIDENT'S MEN, but it simply isn't. While the performances are all capable, and the ensemble cast that Bill Condon rounded up is fairly impressive, the narrative lacks the proper focus and doesn't adequately portray the gravity of what is being presented. Other issues include pacing and attempts at being current and tech-savvy that just come off as distracting. The material is presented almost in documentary-like fashion, down to the hand-held camera-work, but nothing in the central story is given much context, outside of American embarrassment at having their secret diplomatic cables released. There was also little insight given into Assange's character that could have made him more relatable. Instead, we get a portrait of a rather sad and lame individual. As far as the technical qualities are concerned, there really isn't anything to complain about but there really isn't anything that makes it stand out either. The music, which included lots of electronica, was alright but it wasn't anything I particularly loved. Overall, this was a rather disappointing watch due to the pedestrian approach it took. Your time would be better spent watching WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS, a documentary on the material that is dramatically presented here.