Brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (19 April 2019)

Marvelous satire from Kubrick, and one that clicks on all cylinders - visually beautiful, lots of funny moments, and sharp commentary on the military, cold war, and threat of nuclear annihilation. A perfect encapsulation of the period, and yet ahead of its time as well. Brilliant performances from Peter Sellers in his three roles, George C. Scott, and Slim Pickens. The imagery is so biting - that cowboy hat, "peace is our profession", and the third reich salutes. The sexual overtones throughout the film add another layer of commentary, starting with the plane refueling and in many references to virility, signaling an aspect that has always been part of the military and those who would make war (perhaps the ultimate 'toxic masculinity' ... and making me think of the George Carlin bit about it not being manly to 'pull out' of Vietnam).
We see the risk to humanity from our own selves in various 'big' ways - someone going rogue, the depraved indifference over 'only' 10-20 million dying, and the irrational fear of the other side being ahead, of there being any kind of "gap." We also see it in our little foibles, like pettiness, jealousy, and lust, and in the ignorant belief in conspiracy theories like that around fluoridation (which was a real thing). And interestingly, we also see the risk to humanity from automation and computers getting into an irreversible, destructive state, perhaps prefetching HAL in 2001, and the concerns of AI decades later. Mostly of all though, it points out the idiocy of the arms race, prompted by living in fear - messages which are still so important today - and it does this in way that is both delightfully over the top, but also includes the essence of truth.