Enigma | Rotten Tomatoes

Enigma

R

Released Apr 19, 2002

1 hr. 59 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

72%

106 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In March 1943 the code breakers at Bletchley Park, Britain's top secret Station X, are facing their worst nightmare: Nazi U boats have unexpectedly changed the code by which they communicate with each other and German High Command. An Allied merchant shipping convoy crossing the Atlantic with 10,000 passengers and vital supplies is in danger of attack. The authorities turn for help to Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott), a brilliant young mathematician and code breaker.

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Critics Consensus

The well-crafted, twist-filled Enigma is a thinking person's spy thriller.

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isla s

I found this to be quite a tense film. There is an element of mystery to it, which I found relatively intriguing. There is a lot of dialogue and not so much in the way of fast paced action scenes per se, so if you prefer to have constant action on screen, with car chase scenes and the like then this may not be for you but if you like to try to get your head around a story with some twists and the like, then this may interest you. I noticed a piece of dialogue that made me laugh, which went as follows:- 'you know, without your glasses you don't look half bad' 'you know, without my glasses on, neither do you' I liked that the female characters could clearly speak back to the men, put it that way!. The plot seemed to slow down a bit half way through, which is a shame as it did become a bit bland after that but it was still an alright watch. I found myself wanting to second guess what might be discovered next, what happened to various people and the like.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

dave j

Adapted from the novel by Robert Harris( depticting a particular time in UK history when code breakers were employed using enigma machines hence the title to dissect morse codes or something like it for the intention of intervention and intersection. In this case it is the intervention since their British allies have not received proper supplies as they are being intercepted by the Nazis. As viewers are introduced to Thomas Jericho (Dougray Scott) just arriving by train and viewers find out that he was away on sick leave as a result of a bad break up of a woman Clarie (Saffron Barrows) employed codes but from a different department. She also apparently has a friend, Hester Wallace (Kate Winslet) who also happens to work alongside her. One day she goes missing upon Thomas's arrival, and he goes on the obsessive rant to find out why as well as what does her disappearance have anything to do with the coded notes she left underneath the floorboard. We learned more about the mysteriousness of Clarie and more as their cold be a spy within the department.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

jordan m

I wrote down a couple things to point out in the review I knew I was going to write while I watched this, but any detail I would point out is minor when compared to the overwhelming feeling I had that I was watching the second act of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone. Nearly every plot development for the entire two hours happens in the same type of quasi-hushed, British-accented conversation as the section of HP1 where they figure out who Nicholas Flamel is. I was so into the notion that somebody accidentally made a movie like this that the entire third act of "escalating stakes" and "scenes that could almost be called action sequences" were entirely unwelcome. The movie didn't have a lot going for it beyond mimicking the narrative structure of a different movie I'd enjoyed; I did not for a single moment care about the girl the protagonist was pining/looking for and the casting of Winslet in a supposedly-secondary female role gave away the ending more than if I'd come right out and wrote it here. The best thing this movie did for me was giving me a reason to watch Imititation Game, a far-better telling of the same general story.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This should be a guide to stealing someone else's work. Ofc the blame falls to the author of the book also. Nonetheless It's offensive to watch as a Pole knowing that in some years ppl will watch movies like that and think this was based on the true story. They omitted all Polish accomplishments in decryption of Enigma, outraging since Poles are the ones responsible for most of progress with breaking the code. And the audacity to make the only Polish role a "bad" character... The lie spoken too many times becomes the truth and Brits seem to like lying... I'd give it a 2-3 stars more if only it's been just a little bit historically accurate.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Decent WWII spy film about British Code Breakers. The average person probably knows nothing about this and the massacre of 4000 Polish soldiers by the Russians. My issue with this film is the constant flashbacks throughout the movie. It definitely makes it a little confusing at times. I liked this movie, but will not be watching it again any time soon.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

r 9

After a slow start, 'Enigma' picks itself up to deliver a good film. The first chunk of events are very slow, with Jericho (Dougray Scott) and the story coming across extremely uninteresting. Thankfully, everything eventually turns the other way and I ended up liking both, Scott himself does an admirable job. Talking of the cast, you also have the likes of Kate Winslet (Hester), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Puck) and Tom Hollander (Guy) appear. The premise revolves around World War II and the role of codebreakers in it. I, admittedly, don't have major knowledge of the Bletchley Park bunch, but it's cool seeing a plot involving them; even if it is fictionalised. The film also has a nice score attached to it by John Barry - his final (accepted) one, in fact. Not massively memorable, but not forgettable either. Worth seeing.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Michael Apted

Director

Dougray Scott

Jericho

Kate Winslet

Hester

Saffron Burrows

Claire

Jeremy Northam

Wigram

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Puck

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

WWII drama has excellent performances; ok for 15+.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 24, 2010

Full Review

Empire Magazine

Rated: 3/5

Dec 23, 2002

Full Review

Eleanor Ringel Cater

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A complicated and intelligent British film with a curious roster of off-screen talent.

Rated: B

Nov 4, 2002

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Tom Stoppard's script, inspired by historical events, commands attention with daring, dizzying twists, betrayals and manipulations. An intelligent examination of the dangerous impulse to categorize the unpredictable or unthinkable.

Rated: 3.5/4

Sep 24, 2010

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Steeped in the tense atmopshere of Wartime Britain, Michael Apted's semi-Hitchcockian drama centers on the mysteries of code breaking while at the same time relates a noirish tale of love, obsession and betrayal.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 22, 2006

Full Review

Film Threat

Rated: 4/5

Dec 6, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

In March 1943 the code breakers at Bletchley Park, Britain's top secret Station X, are facing their worst nightmare: Nazi U boats have unexpectedly changed the code by which they communicate with each other and German High Command. An Allied merchant shipping convoy crossing the Atlantic with 10,000 passengers and vital supplies is in danger of attack. The authorities turn for help to Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott), a brilliant young mathematician and code breaker.

Director: Michael Apted
Executive Producer: Victoria Pearman, Guy East, Nigel Sinclair, Hanno Huth, Michael White
Screenwriter: Tom Stoppard, Robert Harris
Distributor: Columbia Tristar, Miramax Films, Shochiku Films Ltd., New Films International, Buena Vista International [us], Senator Film, Manhattan Pictures International
Production Co: Broadway Pictures, Jagged Films, Intermedia Films
Rating: R (Sex Scene|Language)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 19, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.3M
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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