Review of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) by Jordan K — 05 Nov 2015

2001: A Space Odyssey is known commonly as one of the all time greats - one of Stanley Kubrick's magnum opuses, 2001 is filled with iconic scenes and often parodied ones at that, but the film lacks interest until the Hal storyline comes into place and most of the scenes are...pretty odd.

2001 can best be described as a series of short space opera tales. From its beginning chronicling the dawn of man through evolutionism and apes iconically throwing a bone up in the air to the genuine horror and eventual sympathy that the overpowering supercomputer HAL 9000 throws on a space team and the viewer - 2001 is compelling in each of its stories.

2001's place in film is undeniable. It paved the way for the science fiction genre and for film in general, yet again one of the great directors Stanley Kubrick's notable films. The film though doesn't have much to it until the HAL character comes in. The iconic ape scene is a nice start, albeit a confusing one, but the original space team's story has little to it. 2001 is also plagued by slow scenes of movement, technical settings around the spaceship and little dialogue that do not benefit the general story. The characters have little to them besides the significant HAL 9000, who provokes genuine terror and eventual sympathy in his final moments. The HAL character is portrayed in a 1984-esque manner, representing the overriding "perfect" power of machinery and its true secrecy. Some of the scenes are notably odd, and most reviewers draw away from the oddness of the iconic yet bizarre confusing scenes and focus on its place in film. Especially the fascinating but especially odd and trippy ending is notably odd, although it ties up the previous loose ends and confusement of the plot. Straight forward - 2001 is a wonder, but it's damn weird at that. It's an odd and especially unique look from Kubrick, who conducts a space opera of sorts filled with every frame a painting of beauty. Visuals parade the scenes, especially of spacecrafts flying around the stratosphere. 2001 is a fascinating and compelling film but it starts off very slow, eventually becoming compelling and appealing as the film goes into the post intermission phase. 2001 is one of Kubrick's most overlooked films - it is very compelling but very overrated. A good watch for a classic film, albeit a little overboard on the mood and visuals.