Unfortunate Legacy for a Great Movie Maker

Rating: 3/10 (3 April 2000)

I am a great fan of Kubrick. His movies are timeless and courageous, but this one just didn't work. It was, in a word, lame. As a dark fantasy it did not disturb, as a comment on life it did not convince. Tom Cruise seemed uncomfortable and out of his element, perhaps he's not ready to grow up and act in mature adult roles. Some of Kidman's worst work, and I believe she is a tremendously talented actress, she was better and more appealing in Batman. Too bad she allowed Kubrick to sell out her stunning physical features rather than utilise her acting ability. I would have expected more from both of them.
Perhaps, also, it was also a poor choice of material. I know that Kubrick has had the rights to this book for quite a while, should have kept them a little bit longer. There was nothing in the way of revelation about the conflict the characters were faced with. We all deal with temptation every day. However the characters reaction was almost cartoonish - something one would find in a TV sitcom, but with an attempt to be dark. I never bought that the Cruise character was ever in any danger, and never empathised with his plight. The Michael Douglas movie, The gGe, did what this movie was trying to do with much greater effect - the entering of a surreal world where one's most basic values and character are tested. The Cruise character survived (morally) by pure luck and not due to any inner strength. He was nothing more than a hypocrite that got lucky in the end and the last line of the movie was nothing short of stupid.
Dr. Strangelove, Clockwork Orange, the Shining, 2001, etc. These will live forever.
I'm afraid many of the other commentors here have their eyes wide shut to this movie, and are voting for Kubrick's legacy. His legacy I give a 10, but this movie get's a 3.