My mistake

Rating: 4/10 (23 September 2010)

I do apologise: I'd somehow got it into my head that comedies are supposed to be funny. Then I remembered our greatest playwright's comedies and assumed that must be what Mr Kubrick was going for with this 'comedy'.
I suppose he started off on the right track, getting Peter Sellers involved, but sadly (for a modern comedy at least) you tend to need a funny script rather than just a funny actor, and the script was certainly not funny. I'm sorry to say that Sellers' Dr. Strangelove came across as over-the-top and self-indulgent. He did as well as could be expected with the President character, given the mediocre script. I quite liked his English airman though: suitably snooty without being offensive.
Many of the other actors (notably excluding James Earl Jones) were fairly rubbish, I thought; lots of overacting, presumably under the mistaken impression that this is what makes a good comedic performance.
The story was original enough, although it basically fizzled out at the end, not knowing quite where to go and instead just stopping. It could have reached the end much more quickly too, if it hadn't been so flabbily edited; many was the scene I thought yeah, I get the point, let's move on...
I'm trying to work out why I gave it as much as 4/10 now. It's "of its time" I suppose, so I shouldn't judge too harshly now.
I realised, on reaching the end of the film, that I vaguely remember seeing it before at some point, but I suspect the vagueness of my recollection simply underlines what a forgettable film it is.
I accept that far more people seem to like it than don't; I just can't work out why. But then I also can't work out why people think Kubrick is anything more than a below-average director. Sorry, Kubrick fans, but I'd have to recommend giving this one a wide berth.