a mind blowing Sci-Fi

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2009)

Groups of men look to discover the mysterious black object which landed on one of Jupiter's moons many years ago.
Stanley Kubrick's picture is a wonderful depiction of monkey to man to machine that generates so many issues and questions and answers so little.
Made in a time when technology was advancing so rapidly this film showed a wonderful vision of what the future could possibly hold.
Filled with spaceships and alien characters this is a marvellous fantasy that shows a believable view of the future, which starts with a beautifully bizarre introduction.
2 minutes of music on a black screen followed by 20 minutes of apes on a planet and the adventure has only just started.
This opening is the most wonderfully weird introduction in Sci-Fi cinematic history. This is unique and almost unbelievable it is that strange. You have to see this introduction to really appreciate the originality and you will not be disappointed. Perhaps slightly overdrawn but still undeniably remarkable.
What follows is a mystery charged investigation about a black slab named the Monolith. This simple creation puzzles apes, men and machines alike. The strange object is a wonderfully bizarre instrument in the films picture and is the key element of the story and like Hannibal Lecter, has little screen time but has the biggest impact. The creation of the Monolith is a puzzle and one that is still being debated over today. The Monolith's representation as a devastating and terrifying creature is helped along by one of the best music scores ever created.
Richard Strauss' Thus Spoke Zarathustra is one of the finest compositions to ever appear on the big screen as is the use of Gyorgy Ligeti who wrote the majority of the score.
The plot further engages audiences with its twisting narrative and enter HAL, the computer who runs the ship heading for Jupiter. HAL is a wonder, a strong minded computer that has a personal edge who makes the film darkly humorous and is one of the finest non human characters in the genre.
2001: A Space Odyssey is cinematic brilliance. A forever changing strange narrative with the finest score ever written, stunning visuals and a mind opening vision of a possible future.