ENIGMA is an under-the-radar Cold War drama of the 1980s, basically unknown to modern audiences. A youthful Martin Sheen is tasked with entering East Germany and stealing secrets from the Russians, but Sam Neill is hot on his tail and has other ideas. This is less a thriller in the BOURNE style and more a slow, deliberately paced spy drama like TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY. The moments of it I enjoyed were chiefly those featuring cast members Sheen, Neill, and an against-type Derek Jacobi as the antagonist. The likes of Michael Lonsdale, Warren Clarke, and Frank Finlay are also welcome by their presence. Where the film falls down is in the very slow pace, which saps life from the picture, and the presence of the obligatory romantic sub-plot which couldn't be less interesting.

The CIA discovers a Russian plot to assassinate five defectives on the Christmas Day, but they do not know who they are. The defective Alex Holbeck (Martin Sheen) is recruited in Paris by CIA and sent to East Berlin to steal the scrambler of the Enigma, the machine used by the soviet intelligence for communication. On the arrival, Holbeck discovers that the KGB and the East Germany government know that he has arrived and his contacts are arrested. Holbeck meets his former lover, the lawyer Karen Reinhardt (Brigitte Fossey), and she gives a safe house to him. The Russian agent Dimitri Vasilikov (Sam Neill) and the East German agent Kurt Limmer (Derek Jacobi) try to find Holbeck's whereabout using different methods, while Karen seduces Dimitri to get the information about the location of the soldiers that Holbeck needs. However Holbeck does not know that the CIA has the scrambler and he is only a bait to convince the Russians that they do not have it."Enigma" is a great thriller with a complex story during the Cold War. The screenplay is very well written and with good twists. It is strange only the cast speaking English since the characters are Germans and Russians, but the cast is good and makes worthwhile watching this spy movie. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Enigma"

After receiving a DVD of this with a Sunday newspaper, I hoped that it was not the usual duff films that are given away because no one would ever buy them. I was wrong. Sheens acting is on par with that of a ten year old in a school pantomime production and the same goes for the majority of the cast. Neill is satisfactory, but plays a Russian and isn't helped by his hybrid Northern Irish/New Zealand accent, and nor are the rest of the KGB characters, all of whom sound like they're in a Cambridge Footlights reunion. In fact, the only people with genuine accents are extras who supply an odd word here and there, helpfully letting us know at least where the hell everything is going on in what is otherwise a complete mash. The "espionage" factor is unimpressive for the most part and primarily consists of Sheen faffing about in various ridiculous disguises whilst trying to blend into the background, quickly becoming not only boring but laughable. The plot has potential but is completely murdered by the rest of the confusing production elements. This could have been so much better.

I first saw this film on hbo around 1983 and I loved it! I scoured all of the auction web sites to buy the vhs copy. This is a very good suspense movie with a few twists that make it more interesting. I don't want to say too much else because if you ever get a chance to see it, you'll be glad I didn't say too much!