There was a lot of buzz leading up to the release of The Fifth Estate. Part of it was around the subject matter – Wikileaks’ eccentric founder Julian Assange. Others were excited to see rising star Benedict Cumberbatch take a shot at playing the icon. Despite both of these strengths, the movie still failed to sizzle.
Despite presenting a nuanced look at the rise of WikiLeaks, The Fifth Estate movie suffers from a heavy-handed script that lacks subtlety and emotional heft.
Based largely on the tell-all books — Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website by former spokesman Daniel Domscheit-Berg, andWikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy by Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding — the film follows WikiLeaks’ ascent from underground website to international watchdog with the power to topple governments and corporations.
