Random Movie Review - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Most of you may not know this film all that well among Stanley Kubrick's work, but if your pop culture knowledge is good, this film will have a scene that you may know about. Yes this is that film with the scene where a man is quite literally riding a bomb like one of those bronco rides. It's one of Kubrick's best films even though most of his films can be controversial and need you to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate what it is. This is one of his easier to enjoy films as there is lots happening in the short run time that the film has (94 minutes to be exact). So let's see what its about:

Loosely based on the book Red Alert, we meet an Air Force general called Jack D. Ripper (played by the late Sterling Hayden) who commands the Burpelson Air Force base of which most of its planes (largely bombers) are currently airborne and two hours away from their designated targets. Jack has the base put on alert as the patrolling aircraft commence an attack flight on the USSR (the main target). Soon enough however, his superiors declare him insane when the Pentagon reveals that no attack order has been declared and a few people try to prevent a nuclear war against the Soviet Union.

OK maybe it is a little difficult to know what's happening given the short run time and lots going on. But for a film made by Kubrick who is known as the guy that wants perfection in his films, this film is alright. Difficult to know what's happening most of the time, but it's very clear that it is a film about nuclear war and that this kind of war is not for the faint-hearted. It's funny, over-the-top and probably gives out the wrong message towards the end. If you thought Michael Bay's explosions were bad, well those are nothing compared to what this film has. 8/10