One of the creepiest films ever made.

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2006)

I don't think "2001: A Space Odyssey" should really be considered a film, but instead, it should be plain art. By "plain" I don't mean boring or uninspiring. I call it "plain art" because even to consider this genius work in the same category as other movies is risking comparison, and placing this movie beside another movie is almost unfair, because no movie has ever come close to being as unique.
"2001: A Space Odyssey" is by far the most original piece of cinema ever created. It not only represents an idea so creepy and so realistic, but also breaks barriers in movie storytelling. Everything, from a 3-part narrative to an ending that makes you think for hours, wows the audience and sends their heads flying back in shock. It's a movie that a few may find weird, disjointed and pretentious, but every good movie is criticized by the public.
The movie tells the story of a major transition between apes, humans and technology. Apes evolve into humans, and humans give birth to artificial intelligence. Probably one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history, as an ape smashes bones and throws one up into the air, director Stanley Kubrick carefully crafts a flawless transition from a bone into a space ship. Kubrick then takes us through some creepy ideas about unexplainable events and technology taking over humanity. Though we see three different stories, they are all connected: the apes show the first sign of evolution into humanity as they become more aware of their surroundings and learn the nature of mystery. Then, fast-forwarding thousands of years later, we see the story of a spaceship traveling to the moon on a commercial craft, and as they arrive they are shocked to find a monolith, which then transitions into a couple of months later when a newer spaceship is traveling to Jupiter.
Kubrick really shows his genius in this movie, as he both directs the movie and the special effects. For the year it was made, "2001: A Space Odyssey" completely shocked the audience with one of the most advanced and complex effects ever seen, which wows viewers even to this day. In an age where special effects were all done by hand, "2001: A Space Odyssey" makes many people skeptical as to how they achieved some of the scenes without computer help. Aside from the stellar special effects, the score is the most haunting and unique piece of music ever put on the big screen. It so closely fits in with the movie with some major key scenes.
The movie plays like an opera. It sways the audience in an inspiring music frenzy while also focusing on a story. And as we watch this movie brought to life, we question our own faith and our own motives in terms of creating artificial intelligence and traveling to foreign planets. What if one day our own race creates a HAL 9000 (a supercomputer with the ability to think and feel)? Questions like this are very much discussed upon watching this terribly amazing movie.
Stanley Kubrick's best direction and one of my top movies of all time. It makes any other movie about space travel or artificial intelligence look shameful. A perfect film and an inspiring piece of art, "2001: A Space Odyssey" defines cinema as one of the most influential and visually stunning films of all time.