Review of 2010 (1984) by Dillon L — 30 May 2012

2001: A Space Odyssey is, of course, a revolutionary, seminal, and classic science fiction film, perhaps THE definitive quintessential piece of the genre, as is its legendary director, Stanley Kubrick.

Thus, when plans for a sequel were announced over 15 years later, based on Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two, was announced, and instead of Kubrick, relatively average but productive filmmaker Peter Hyams was to write and direct, many must have obviously been left skeptical.

And to be fair, after seeing the finished product, there is plenty of reason to have skepticism. Compared to the eclectic, image-heavy, poetic 2001, 2010 (also known as 2010: The Year We Make Contact) is a boilerplate, almost generic, if well-told 1980s science fiction movie.

Hyams chose not to attempt to replicate Kubrick's style of storytelling, and while this helps give 2010 its own identity, it also makes it infinitely more forgettable. 2010 is a far more traditional narrative than its predecessor, that continues the story of the first film without ruining or sullying it in any way.

Hyams' direction is competent, his script wisely focuses on the important characters (namely, Bowman, Floyd, and HAL) and the more complex special effects are well-handled, but compared to the haunting imagery of A Space Odyssey, almost no image in the film is memorable.

Despite being far more recent, the movie also feels far more antiquated than 2001 does. Even though it's over 40 years old now, 2001 still feels futuristic, and as fresh and innovative as it must have felt in 1968.

By comparison, 2010 feels old, outdated, and not remotely futuristic (not helped by the Earth scenes, which look an awful lot more like 1984 than Clarke-2010). Nevertheless, the increased level of dialogue this time around lends to stronger performances from the cast.

Roy Scheider succeeds William Sylvester as Heywood Floyd, and creates a character who didn't exist last time around. Floyd is a man filled with regret, taking personal responsibility for the loss of the Discovery nine years earlier, and determined to find out what happened to Bowman.

John Lithgow and Helen Mirren, despite their prominence, are more or less wasted here, and the US-Soviet conflict makes 2010 feel all the more dated. Bob Balaban gets a few solid moments as R. Chandra, HAL's original creator, and Keir Dullea's return to the role of Dave Bowman is more than welcome.

Most importantly, Douglas Rain returns as the voice of HAL, and hits all the right notes, as he did in the original. David Shire's score cannot match the classical compositions of Kubrick's film, but Hyams' cinematography does manage to give some great visuals.

2010 is a rather ordinary sequel to an extraordinary film, but for hardcore fans of the original, it's still worth a watch.