Flawed classic masterpiece.

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2003)

Yesterday I saw this one on DVD. I had seen it once before in a movie theatre, maybe 15 or 20 years ago, and I remember being underwhelmed, even though I was aware at the time that in its day it must have been the definitive SF movie.
However, what I saw on DVD this time around actually did impress the hell out of me. In the opening scenes: yes, this is how primitive man might have looked like. No chimps (though I think I spotted two somewhere), no people in monkey suits, but an actual unknown species of primate. Then, cut to the 21st century: this part, largely exposition, is rather dull and slow, and looks like it was put there mainly for the cinematographers to show off. Zero-gravity toilets, oh my, how clever, yeah right.
The movie really comes into its strength, though, during the Jupiter mission part. The horror we're confronted with is almost purely psychological. The action here is reported in such a cool and understated fashion that it grips you much harder than it has a right to. If I look at what this film accomplishes here, and compare it to present day flicks with their hugely overdone action sequences, spectacular effects, fight scenes, aggressive music, in other words: cheap thrills - I have to conclude that, yes, this movie deserves its reputation.
I'm a little more doubtful about the enigmatic 'beyond Jupiter' stuff: the swirling colours continue swirling for entirely too long, and the final scenes do little to make up for that. And I am not convinced about the legitimacy of expecting your audience to suddenly understand that esoteric Starchild stuff after taking them by the hand, neatly explaining everything to them as you go for the entire first two hours of the film.
And then signing off with that Johann Strauss' waltz music. Fitting at that point, true, but I wish Kubrick's choice here could have been a bit less inane. Ravel has written some nice waltzes, too...
This one is 35 years old. Still, it remains one of the most intelligent SF movies in existence. That, despite its flaws, makes it a classic.