Wildly Inconsistent

Rating: 2/10 (5 June 2014)

Although I had seen parts of the film ever since it was released in 1968, I never watched the entire film until yesterday. I am very skeptical of films that try to predict the future and this case my doubts were justified. Although the central action is supposed to occur in 2001, Kubrick & Clarke were wildly optimistic about the progress of space exploration in the 33 years since the film was made. They were also too optimistic about the continued existence of the American corporate giants of the day. Several corporate logos are used in the film - Pan American Airlines, Bell Telephone, IBM & Hilton Hotels. Pan American and Bell are gone. IBM is no longer the computer monolith it once was. Only Hilton is still a well known corporation. On the other hand, there is no optimism about race relations or the ability of minorities to move into positions of power - every person in the film is white. No imagination was used in the creation of the characters' clothing either - the men's suits are straight of of the 1960's as are the flight attendants'. The film seems to have been made in separate parts by different directors - no expense spared on some parts and corners cut in others. What I think happened is that MGM got cold feet and cut off Kubrick's funding at some point. He then had to make do with scenes like the one in the earthly room at the end - using sets and props easily available at the studio. I'm not going to comment on the plot because I think we're dealing with an incomplete realization of Kubrick's vision.