El arma del engaño

I was really looking forward to this film because it's based on the book of the same name by Ben Macintyre, which was brilliant.

It starts off very strong, setting the scene, as in wartime Britain and at what point of the war it is, and highlighting the importance of the mission that the main characters will do.

Unfortunately as other reviewers have said the main plot of the movie is not the focus at times and instead it focuses on, frankly, irritating sub-plots. The strength of the film is the intelligence work that the characters do and that should have been the focus.

The acting was great. I particularly liked, Jason Isaacs as John Godfrey a naval commander and Simon Russel Beale as Winston Churchill.

Overall, worth watching, especially if you normally like World War Two dramas or spy stories, but potentially could have been better I think.

OMG! Please. Really. This is one of the most incredible stories out of WWII and "they" had to toss in a love story that took away so much from the real story, it was sad.

And yes, it is FAR too long. OMG, I wanted to take a nap!

Having those two officers acting like high school jocks over The Girl was pathetic. And sad. What a waste of one hella story.

It is amazing what people can come up with they have to, though, isn't it!?

Make sure to watch the credits and see the real photographs of the real people!!

It was enjoyable enough but I really wanted to enjoy this more than I did.

It seemed to unnecessarily labour several male characters fancying Kelly Macdonald's character. All the time taken up on this tiresome sub-plot would have been better spent on some of the main story. Also, a triple-agent character giving a hand job to someone just seemed unlikely and out of place.

One of several nods to James Bond was an unfeasibly high-powered buzzsaw watch as a throwaway gag (because of Ian Fleming being a character) was corny and distracting.

I somehow expected it would be more engaging, gritty and revealing than the 1956 film, but it seemed pretty typical and formulaic like many modern British WWII themed films with foiled wartime romances crow-barred in.

There are some great actors in the film but some of them seem to be overused in other similar roles the same era. It even seemed a little like a mini "Death of Stalin" reunion for Jason Isaacs and Simon Russell Beale.

Perhaps I'm being too unkind to the film, but I was looking forward to it and fell a little short of expectations.

A likeable film however I can't help but feel for the potential that it missed out on. The actors fulfilled their roles and we were able to get to know the characters.

The film often digressed from the main theme and and focused on far less relevant sub plots. Contrasting this some more interesting scenes felt to be cut short.

The film is overall above par, however I feel this could have been so much more.

There is a better film here but some unnecessary side plots - oh well, that romantic thing took the focus so many times - are really distracting.

Some very good moments, great acting, very tense on its third act, but the first was confusing and full of exposition. Good enough but I was expecting better.