49
Metascore
42 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80Total FilmTotal FilmWith a riveting portrayal by Cumberbatch at its heart, The Fifth Estate tells its story grippingly - but finally leaves us none the wiser.
- 60The GuardianCatherine ShoardThe GuardianCatherine ShoardThis is highly competent catnip for the watercooler crowd.
- 60Time Out LondonDave CalhounTime Out LondonDave CalhounIt’s adequate and often fun, but no match for Cumberbatch’s talents: physically, his Assange is far more complex and intriguing than most of the things we hear him say or see him do.
- 58Film.comJordan HoffmanFilm.comJordan HoffmanFor a film that reminds use over and over that this is a whole new world, this movie feels awfully familiar.
- 50VarietyDennis HarveyVarietyDennis HarveyBoth the kindest and most damning thing you can say about The Fifth Estate is that it primarily hobbles itself by trying to cram in more context-needy material than any single drama should have to bear.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeThe most compelling thing here by far is the film's vision of Assange, by all accounts a man of enormous self-regard and slippery ethics. Benedict Cumberbatch has the character in hand from the start.
- 42The PlaylistKevin JagernauthThe PlaylistKevin JagernauthA lack of courage on behalf of the filmmakers to take any position renders the film narratively limp.
- 40EmpireAdam SmithEmpireAdam SmithDisappointingly dull account of a tale desperately in need of a sharper screenplay and some directorial vim. Might as well wait for the Blu-ray, Jules.