Makes you think about who's running the show.

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2012)

I watched this movie in my European History class as part of 'end-of-the-year movie palooza.' I'm personally not the biggest fan of black & white, old school movies, but this one was pretty captivating.
It was created during the Cold War and it was supposed to be "dark comedy." While the movie probably will not make you laugh out loud, it has its funny moments where you will at least grin. It is a dark comedy because it is a satire on the Cold War, which most people during the time probably did not find to be very entertaining.
The characters in this film are very memorable. I think that is partly because of the diverse personalities that exist; one is serious, one is paranoiac, one is crazy, and one is rather funny. I think Stanley Kubrick did a great job integrating them into the story. The characters individually are not particularly interesting, but the way that they combined to create a mockery of the war was truly a masterpiece.
The problem that I had with this film was the lack of fluidity in the plot. There were only about three places where action took place, and the entire movie was just switching back and forth between the two. While action was taking place, it did not feel that it was actually moving. Typically, the setting changes as the plot moves on, but this movie lacked that. I suppose that's not necessarily a flaw, it's just something that stood out to me.
I feel that this movie is pretty relevant even though it is 48 years old. The lack of professionalism from the world leaders in this movie is still something that can be seen in today's politics.
"Gentlemen. You can't fight in here. This is the War Room!"