I love Kubrick, but puzzled by this film's high rating

Rating: 7/10 (27 February 2019)

I think the title of my review says it all. Kubrick was genius. Full stop. I love Strangelove, it is timeless and brilliant. I love Jack Nicholson, I could watch him sleep and be entertained. Scatman Crothers, also adore. But not this film. I honestly do not understand the high rating. Jack is Jack, and that is great, but from the moment he appeared, there was no descent into madness as per the novel. It was a hysterical performance, literally. His smart ass smile that I love, the eyebrows, glint in his eye, sarcasm, was excellent, but totally not scary. And that is the problem. I know I will get reamed, but this film failed to capture the isolation and suffication of the novel. It is like a collection of scenes. Elevator door opens, oh lookblood. Why??? Why??? Too jarring. Various characters in costumes, never explained. You really have to read the novel to understand the scenes. A caveat: I think the hedge maze was a genius choice and better than the topiary animals in the novel. But why switch from a mallet to an axe? The bartender Lloyd was very creepy. The most incredible and scary part of the film is when Duvall frantically keeps flipping through the typed pages that all say the same thing. THAT was amazing. To be honest, I laughed most of the time Jack was spewing his lines. Well made, but overrated.