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Enigma
Metascore
64 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
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  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Shawn Levy
    91
    Along the way it provides the grand, intelligent entertainment of a superior cast playing smart people amid a compelling plot. It may not be perfect, but it's decidedly a cut above.
  2. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    90
    A riveting and surprisingly romantic ride.
  3. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    90
    It is such a grand, romantic entertainment that it sweeps the viewer along in its swiftly escalating suspense.
  4. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Michael O'Sullivan
    90
    With a cast of actors playing some of England's smartest people and with a crackling script by Stoppard -- no slouch in the brains department -- it pays to stay awake.
  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Foreman
    88
    Uses the compelling true story of the triumph of the Enigma code-breakers as background for an invented but believable story of love, betrayal and heroism.
  6. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Rich Cline
    80
    It's brainy and brilliant, but despite amorous overtones and a few good action set pieces, it just doesn't generate the thrills or romance that would have made it a true classic.
  7. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    80
    Enigma is not for everyone, but the thoughtful (and the historically minded) will find it an absorbing and extremely well-textured experience.
    All this critic's reviews
  8. Variety
    Reviewed by: Joe Leydon
    80
    Intelligent, involving and intricately plotted thriller.
  9. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Rosenbaum
    80
    Period re-creations so rich you can taste them, and the fine cast.
  10. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Marc Savlov
    78
    It's done with such a wonderfully dry style and wit that you don't mind having to stop to catch up now and again.
  11. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    What I like about the movie is its combination of suspense and intelligence. If it does not quite explain exactly how decryption works (how could it?), it at least gives us a good idea of how decrypters work, and we understand how crucial Bletchley was -- so crucial its existence was kept a secret for 30 years.
  12. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    75
    The film manages to crack all its codes, and even when it sags a bit, it's never lacking grace and some wit. Not enigmatically at all, it pleases and teases us -- in high style.
  13. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    A smart, old-fashioned spy thriller in which the weapon of choice is brainpower.
    All this critic's reviews
  14. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Jonathan Curiel
    75
    Think of Enigma as a cerebral thriller about the horror of war and the hope that people had in spite of it.
  15. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    With its combination of intrigue, romance, and adventure set against a World War II backdrop, the movie has an undeniable appeal. Flaws aside, Enigma is engaging and ambitious.
  16. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Jennie Punter
    75
    The combined talents of Apted, Stoppard and the stellar cast make Enigma a puzzle worth solving.
  17. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: J. Hoberman
    70
    Doesn't coddle the audience. But neither does it play fair. The narrative takes several fast turns and stops short with the sudden introduction of new material; the exposition is hurried and lazily predicated on characters' thinking aloud.
  18. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Stephen Hunter
    70
    First-class in all departments except clarity.
  19. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    63
    Best of all, though, is Northam, whose sable hair and polished poise put one in mind of the young Cary Grant. In this no-sweat performance, he's an actor who conveys how restorative it is to think.
  20. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Renee Graham
    63
    Snoozy, plodding film that never captures the inherent suspense of its subject.
  21. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    63
    Enigma, named for the Nazi secret-coding machine, has everything going for it except a pulse.
  22. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    63
    Most of the actors keep an icicle-stiff upper lip except for Winslet, who darts around like a finch with a beak full of sunflower seeds, and Burrows, who exudes a musk of refined sexiness.
  23. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Charles Taylor
    60
    Director Michael Apted does a smooth, competent job, but like almost all his work, Enigma lacks excitement and a vivid personality.
  24. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Keith Phipps
    60
    Achieves a dullness that defies its pedigree and its story's potential.
  25. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Jean Oppenheimer
    60
    Certainly a terrific sense of urgency underlies the story and Tom's desperation over Claire is palpable, but that may not be enough for viewers who actually like to understand how the riddle is unraveling.
  26. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    50
    The idea of cracking a secret message from the enemy during war is thrilling; making the process interesting to watch is more problematic.
  27. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    Given his way with witty banter, Stoppard's obvious, even leaden, dialogue is especially disappointing; director Michael Apted's handling of the story's frequent flashbacks is equally infelicitous.
  28. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Paul Malcolm
    50
    It's all part of a larger calculus that the filmmakers hope will translate into a thinking person's thriller. If only they themselves knew how to figure it.
  29. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    42
    A turgid muddle of romance, espionage, and geek valor, despite intimations that it might have turned into ''A Reasonably Dapper-Looking Mind.''
  30. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    42
    All these good elements have resulted in a movie that is not so much awful as mediocre, disconnected and ultimately incomprehensible.
  31. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    40
    Stoppard and his director, Michael Apted, must be aware of how dry their film is, because periodically they work in little thriller divertimenti -- car chases and such -- that only serve to point up how un-thrilling everything is.
  32. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    40
    The mystery of Enigma is how a rich historical subject, combined with so much first-rate talent -- a highly capable (if not always exciting) director, a fine English cast, a script by Tom Stoppard -- could have yielded such a flat, plodding picture.
  33. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Anthony Lane
    40
    Enigma is, to be blunt, "No way Out" meets "Revenge of the Nerds," and the meetinhg is not a happy one. [22 & 29 April 2002, p. 208]
    All this critic's reviews
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