"I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over."'

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2003)

Without a doubt, one of the finest films of the 20th century, Stanley Kubrick has created a work of art that will be studied and appreciated for countless generations. Very few other filmmakers have ever attempted a tale with the depth and scope of 2001, and none have succeeded. This is cinema truly as art, and like a Van Gogh painting or a William Blake poem, accessible, yet dense, and broadly open to interpretation.
It is easy to understand the controversy surrounding this film, and why it creates an either a hate it or love it reaction with the majority of its viewers. This film is different from anything that came before it, and sadly, except for its widely imitated special effects, just as different from every film that has been made since. It doesn't pander to or insult its audience, it is a film that one must experience, on the director's own terms, and almost inevitably, come away changed.
Interesting, for a feature film with very limited dialog, it contains one of the most powerful and memorable conversations in the history of film. A dialog between computer and man, where for 95% of the conversation, only the man's breathing, can be heard. After having seen the film many times now, I still get chills watching this scene.
This is a film that one can't imagine being made today. It is too uncompromising and original. The studios would want a heroic and glib Bruce Willis as the mission commander battling to save the crew, spouting clever one-liners, and overcoming impossible odds leading up to the required happy ending. Yippee-ki-yay, HAL 9000. Bruce kisses the girl, fadeout, up comes a hiphop tune with credits. Nope. No major studio would make this movie today, and speaking of impossible odds, consider the pitch meeting where a screenwriter even tried to sell this movie. He'd be escorted off the lot by security.
For those who have never seen this film, or have seen it once and didn't like it, I have this comment. Put Star Wars, Star Trek and every other science fiction film out of your mind. It isn't going to be anything like those, yet its look heavily influenced every space film that followed. You won't see the now standard 20 cuts in 12 seconds approach to editing. Kubrick's shots are like individual works of art in a gallery, and he allows you the time to ponder them. Its ok not to like this film, many people prefer Vin Diesel to Van Gogh, but if you have any real interest in cinema, you owe it to yourself to experience one of the most important and influential films ever made. And if possible, see it in a theatre, as this is one film that truly loses a lot in the translation to the small screen. Thanks, Stanley.