War film based on real life but fans all have the same complaint
Enigma, the British-American war thriller from 2001, has garnered a 71% rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite leaving fans puzzled over a significant issue. Set during World War II, the film features high-tension drama focusing on the efforts of codebreakers at Bletchley Park trying to decipher Nazi Germany's formidable Enigma code.
The movie, directed by Michael Apted and based on Robert Harris's acclaimed novel with an adaptation penned by Tom Stoppard, has been praised for its gripping portrayal of historical events.
Even though the historical aspects have won it popularity, audience opinions remain divided as evidenced by mixed responses.
On Rotten Tomatoes, one viewer scathingly wrote: "Serious contender for worst film of all time. The acting is terrible, I mean really terrible, it is difficult to even work out what the story is supposed to be about, it is nothing to do with enigma in any real sense at all."
Conversely, another said: "The slow pace of the film was fine at the beginning while it introduced the period setting. However, that soon made it dull. Most of the main characters were uninteresting. Overall a very disappointing film.", reports the Express.
Despite boasting big names like Dougray Scott, Kate Winslet, Jeremy Northam, and Saffron Burrows who bring together a blend of spy drama and romance, Enigma's appeal is somewhat tarnished.
Behind its clever narrative and wartime suspense, the film faces criticism over one major stumbling block - its commitment to historical veracity, particularly concerning the pivotal role of Alan Turing.
Critics have earmarked Enigma for downplaying the essential input of Alan Turing, the bona fide mastermind whose work at Bletchley Park was paramount.
Turing's crucial contribution in deciphering the Enigma code is ignored, as well as his seminal work in the early stages of computing.
The film instead focuses on a fictional protagonist, Jericho, which has prompted many viewers to debate its fidelity to historical accuracy.
A viewer said: "I loved the story even though it didn't give any credit to the TRUE genius who actually broke the Modern code...Alan Turing, and his Polish predecessors in the 1920's who originally broke the code way back then....oh well...Hollywood gobbles facts and regurgitates them as truths."
Enigma is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.
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This is not unreasonable. Megadeth have sold more than 50 million albums, which ain't half bad for a band propelled into existence by feelings of spite and revenge. The truth of it, though, is that he was simply too unpredictable for the strategical mind of Metallica. His meanness as a drunk got him fired, sure, but his mouth alone would have done the job sooner or later. Mustaine is on record as saying that Barack Obama wasn't born in America, that starving African women should practice birth control by '[putting] a plug in it' and that he once cured a fan of cancer by praying. I could go on. At a concert at the Antrim Forum, in 1988, he caused a riot by dedicating a song to 'the cause' and proclaiming 'give Ireland back to the Irish'. The band left town in a bulletproof bus. 'Close to genius' But if Mustaine offers rather too much evidence of having the gob of an idiot, elsewhere, at its best, his artistry comes close to genius. 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Even in the teeth of truly reckless behaviour, Megadeth were astoundingly good. Rust In Peace, for example, the album many fans claim is the group's finest hour, was forged in chaos. According to former bassist David Ellefson, it is 'a masterpiece created in the darkness of heroin'. After 17 visits to rehab, in the end even Mustaine cleaned up his act. 'The sad thing was,' he once said, 'I was so out in the open with my debauchery and the fact was that if you didn't like it, I would fight you. That didn't end up very good for me' – here it comes again – 'in Metallica, but that's how I was. It was just a way of life … nobody told me what to do – not now, not ever. But as I started to get healthier, I began to realise that I could play guitar [sober], and that there's a lot more to life than smuggling stuff and trying to always have something on you.' For all his self-abasement, inevitably, there is something to Mustaine's claims that, when compared to Metallica, he's destined always to be 'number two'. OK. But his old group's dominating appeal is these days as much to do with a genius for marketing as it is the music itself. Megadeth have nothing of this kind; at times, in fact, their tours are a mess. Despite having headlined, and filled, Wembley Arena (twice, actually), in October, the group's first steps on their last lap around the track will be as the support act to plod-metal mediocrities Disturbed in British and European arenas. Fortunately, the music is something else. Rattlehead, My Last Words, Holy Wars…, Symphony Of Destruction, This Day We Fight! This is the stuff of pure excitement, with highs that are the equal of anything in metal. Over the years, the soap opera that accompanied it all has, of course, been riveting. But this is a band that will be remembered for the venom and artistry with which they infused their records. It might even be that, one day, Dave Mustaine will receive his full due as the movement's most propulsive talent. Either way, Megadeth will be missed.
