In case the political themes of the regular-season episodes of Battlestar Galactica aren’t clear enough, BSG:Razor provides a mini-case study of the dangers of unbridled militarism. I was very lucky to have seen this movie on the big screen Monday night thanks to my friend Matt’s quick-fingered grabbing of the free offer. (Possible spoilers ahead, natch).

The “present day” of the film is set in the latter half of Season Two — after the death of Admiral Cain and before the settlement of New Caprica — but most of it takes place in flashback to the early days of the current Cylon-human war (probably about the time of the original mini-series). The film does nothing to redeem Cain, although it does provide some explanation for the things she does. Indeed, because we’re on the brink of Season 4, nothing in the plot can be all that surprising, so the story turns on character, specifically Lt. Kendra Shaw, invented just for Razor.

Razor portrays a military leadership gone mad with the need for vengeance (for crimes societal and personal) and parallels to the current war are, perhaps, inevitable (especially for those who believe we’re in Iraq to avenge George H.W. Bush). Yet despite any differences of personality between Cain and Adama, at the very end of the film Adama recognizes that what sets him apart from his tormented superior officer is not a stronger will or deeper compassion, but rather institutional safeguards in the form of civilian checks on his authority and a much more personal accountability to his own son. It’s an interesting recognition of the fallibility of humans that we rarely see in culture today. At the same time it’s also an expression of faith in the power of institutions to hold our foibles in check — the very combination of optimism and pessimism that’s the foundation of the American Constitution and that Battlestar Galactica seems to be able to get just right.