I got around to watching Dr. Strange last night (mainly because he’ll be in Infinity War) and it was okay. Not great but not a waste of time. I wasn’t really impressed with Cumberbatch though and his attempts at humor felt flat although that could have just been the script.
Only other place I’ve seen Cumberbatch was the first season of Sherlock which my wife insisted I watch. I felt that Martin Freeman was more interesting, both the character of Watson and Freeman’s performance.
However, I know that Cumberbatch is a Big Thing and he’s trained in theater and all that so perhaps I just haven’t seen him in the right stuff – likely enough since I don’t watch a lot of stuff. And I haven’t exactly followed his career. So, if I wanted to make the case that an ailing Cumberbatch deserved a kidney from the SAG Spare Organs Vault, what would I use as evidence?
Mainly all I know is that he’s a famous actor, I guess some women find him dreamy and the tired “B[whatever] C[whatever]” name joke thing.
He was very effective as Martin Crieff in Cabin Pressure, although that may not impress the SAG folks. He seems to play cocky, arrogant types quite often, but Martin is very shy and unsure of himself. If it weren’t for Cumberbatch’s name in the credits, I’d have never known it was him.
Knights and swords and Dame Judi Dench. I can give that a try.
BBC Radio programs might be trickier. I see his National Theater Live performance will be in select theaters in the Chicago area in March although I’d probably try watching The Hollow Crown in the comfort of my home before taking that plunge.
Figure the default starting point would be the one he got an Oscar nomination for?
Which was, admittedly, right in his Sherlock wheelhouse – The Genius Who Doesn’t Really Understand How Normal People Interact, But Who Can Do A Passable Job Of It When He Makes An Effort To Emulate Social Skills, Especially When He Is A Step Ahead Of You On The Subject Being Discussed, Which Isn’t Always But Is Often – only with plenty of scenes where he struggles to keep his emotions from getting the better of him.
He was quite decent in the recent adaptation of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, which I watched again recently. But he does get somewhat overshadowed by the rest of what was a superbly cast ensemble.
He was absolutely outstanding in “The Imitation Game,” though the movie is otherwise quite overrated, in my opinion. He delivered the goods in that one and it’s not another cocky, self-assured prick.
I think that was definitely intentional. There was a scene where he makes a joke to Wong and gets no response. He mutters “People used to think I was funny.” Wong replies “Did they work for you?” The implication being that people only laughed to suck up to him, and he was too arrogant to realize he really wasn’t all that funny.
And with that out of the way… yes definitely “The Imitation Game”.
Just what I came in to post. He was great in both Henry VI, Part III and Richard III. That scene in the Henry VI movie where he comes to kill the former king at the end is bone-chilling.
I also loved The Imitation Game. His Alan Turing certainly makes Sheldon Cooper look silly.
I’m not liking him in anything where he has to play an American. His American accent is atrocious.
