Slightly flawed, otherwise a great film

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2006)

Yes, I did not give 2001 a perfect score. I gave it an 8- and 8 because of a few choice reasons. Instead of getting into every aspect of the film like others do, I will just explain these problems.
The first was about the first scene in space, where the music is playing and it's just showing the ship moving ever so slowly towards the space station. That part dragged on way too long, and I found myself growing restless as I sat there. The second complaint was that so much was left unanswered. What was the significance of the monolith? Why did HAL go mad? How did he turn into the starchild or whatever its called? Where the heck WAS he at the end? That irked me, and took away from the film (though I was thinking about these things for quite a while).
Otherwise, great film. Very entertaining when somethings happening, and expertly done by a masterful director, but if you're looking for action packed sci-fi or just a popcorn movie or something to watch on Saturday night, stay far away.