Theory Thursday: Benedict Cumberbatch is Overrated

Benedict Cumberbatch in Zoolander No. 2

Welcome to a weekly column called Theory Thursdays, which will be released every Thursday and discuss my "controversial opinion" related to something relative to the week of release. Sometimes it will be birthdays while others is current events or a new film release. Whatever the case may be, this is a personal defense for why I disagree with the general opinion and hope to convince you of the same. While I don't expect you to be on my side, I do hope for a rational argument. After all, film is a subjective medium and this is merely just a theory that can be proven either way. 

"The Fifth Estate" Debuts to 2013's Record Lowest Box Office Numbers

Benedict Cumberbatch

It looked like 2013 was going to be the year of Benedict Cumberbatch. He has had an enviable run of success this year with the successful Sherlock series as well as being the villain in one of the year's most successful blockbusters Star Trek Into Darkness. As Fall began, he had a plethora of interesting projects that was sure to get him noticed, including a small part in Oscar front-runner 12 Years a Slave, a role alongside Meryl Streep in August: Osage County, and a return to blockbusters with The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. In fact, it seemed that among all of these impressive roles that one of them would have landed him an Academy Award nomination. As predicted earlier, I assumed it would be director Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate. However, if the numbers are to be trusted, this is probably not the case.

Does "The Fifth Estate" Predict Cumberbatch's Best Actor Nomination?

Left to right: Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Bruhl

Hours after posting my piece on one of my most anticipated movies of the year, 12 Years a Slave, a trailer for director Bill Condon's The Fifth Estate is released. The irony lies in how insistent I was that this would be Benedict Cumberbatch's chance at an Oscar nomination. It doesn't seem that far fetched, considering that this almost seems to be similar to The Social Network in terms of relevancy to the modern era and the reliance on computers. What the trailer delivers is a glimpse into Cumberbatch's take on Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks. Is it a look into potentially one of the most celebrated performances of the year?