2001: A Space Odyssey




I'm afraid, Dave.

Yup, it's about time I got around to reviewing this, the pet of many a serious movie goer and Kubrick groupie.

Well, there are technically three sections to the film. The first involves the dawn of man, the second and middle being more of a titular nature. It seems that something pointing to intelligent extraterrestrial life was purposely buried under the surface of the moon just waiting for humans to dig it up. Eighteen months later two astronauts are onboard a ship sent to further investigate. The ship is controlled by an advanced computer dubbed HAL (Douglas Rain) that possesses artificial intelligence and a clean error record. But all is not destined to go well on this mission bound for the unknown.

I'm hardly the biggest Kubrick fan ever, but there's no getting around the sheer beauty of 2001: A Space Odyssey. If merely judging by how well a film accomplishes what it sets out to do, few can claim to outmatch this one. Even the most ardent naysayer will come away from this one wondering what the heck just happened. Apparently Stanley and co writer Arthur Clarke wanted the audience to leave with more questions than answers. Thought provoking is an understatement, and whatever ideas I spew here have little chance of matching what has already been said. Not to give too much away, but 2001 also contains probably the greatest freak out of all time. It's hard to talk much about the prevalent themes because a lot of it is left to individual interpretation. But the usual Kubrick stuff is here, especially the ills of dehumanization. Many a forum has been filled with endless debates about the meaning of 2001, and it isn't likely to end any time soon.

Did I say beauty? Well, this is no doubt where many viewers lose interest. The film is not big on dialogue. To be brutally honest, 2001 is maybe an hour of good story stretched for two and a half. There is a simple and gripping plot that develops on the space mission. What accounts for the rest of it? Brilliant scenes that include the mastery of the first human tool and a warp forward involving the pinnacle of human technology in motion. In plain jargon it's mostly space ships gracefully floating through space accompanied by classical music. And incredible classical music for that matter (the horribly overused Blue Danube has never been better). The special effects are also jaw dropping considering the times, featuring just for starters the infamous jogging scene.

The cast is mostly inconsequential, though Douglas Rain does an awesome job as HAL's chillingly calm voice. It's good ol' Stanley who is front and center with his light show, and it does not disappoint.



-The Gnome