Beautiful Imagery, Minimal Story

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2019)

There is one main thing 2001: A Space Odyssey succeeds in: Beauty! Almost every single shot is a masterpiece in cinematography, paired with an excellent use of audio. The only way to describe this film is "art" which, unfortunately, is where some problems begin to appear.
I would encourage anybody to let themselves experiment and be creative or artistic with filmmaking. Without a meaningful story, though, you risk having a film which is compelling to look at, but isn't very exciting to watch. This is the film's biggest fault; the plot often felt like an afterthought, with there being very little story. Once the story does finally begin, it is a thrilling moment but much too short-lived in relation to the rest of the film.
Overall, I did enjoy 2001: A Space Odyssey. I would have rated it higher, but with some scenes lasting too long, and with story sorely lacking, I found it hard to love this film as much as I wanted to. Truly, this is a film I can appreciate for its creativity and stunning visuals. However, I'm not sure I would want to watch it again for a very long time.