very positive (spoilers)

Rating: Null/10 (2 March 2000)

One of the things that makes 2001 so interesting is the total lack of movies out there even remotely like it. So many people complain that it is incomprehensible, dull, or pretentious. The problem is that 2001 is all of these things if you watch it like you watch any other movie.
People are used to plot, character, and dramatic urgency being spoon fed to them, and so 2001 fails in all of these areas. In fact, it really has no plot, no interesting characters (except HAL), and no drama in the conventional sense. But this is the movies unique strength, and what a strength it is.
The key to enjoying 2001 (and I don't mean understanding it, I mean enjoying it) is to let go of these needs and simply experience it. 2001 isn't about characters and their petty concerns, and it isn't about dramatic dialogue (there isn't any dialogue hardly). Instead, 2001 is about contemplation. It asks--no demands, that we sit back and think about things most people don't think about (indeed that most people don't want to bother thinking about).
It asks questions like what is our place in the universe? Where do we go from here? Who are we? How is our development related to our tools--and the use of violence? Most of all it tries to invoke the sheer awe that the universe inspires, but to appreciate it, you must think about it.
2001 is not incomprehensible. It answers all of these questions--but not in a conventional way. Rather than give pat resolutions or quasi-religious sermons, it asks that you feel the answer, rather than express it in words.
Many people dislike the fact that 2001 has such a baffling ending. But the ending isn't really all that baffling--it is just difficult to describe in words. The awesome mystery of the universe, the movie asserts, is more likely beyond our ability to completely understand. Kubrick understood this, and so presented the entire movie using the least amount of dialogue he could, hoping that the viewers would follow the visual journey, and experience it on a more visceral, primal level than intellectual, even abstract narrative could ever provide.
2001 is a unique masterpiece. You don't watch it. You experience it.