Endless, inscrutable, and outdated

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2013)

When I first saw this movie as a teen, I really liked it. When I watched it today, I found it bored me almost to tears. While it initially was a tour de force in movie making and introduced a couple of advanced sci fi concepts of the late 1960's, it doesn't stand up well in today's culture.
The plot is extremely thin, and could be told in very few words. The plot moves at a snail's pace. It was impossible for me, as a technically educated adult, to avoid spending the idle time spotting bad physics, improbable technology, and unrealistic events.
The cinematography is highly touted, and it undoubtedly represents a significant step in the advancement of film art. Nonetheless, there are aspects of the film that I found woefully unconvincing by today's standards. Scenes that created high drama in 1968 are now sadly obvious fantasy that prevented me from enjoying the film.
The ending is so obscure that, if you plan to watch the movie, I'd recommend reading the book first.
This movie joins a list of others that I never wish to see again, and in fact, I regret having spent time on it this time around. If you are less technically demanding than I have become, you might like it, but you might still find it slow moving and dull.