A Few Random Comments

Rating: 10/10 (18 May 1999)

So many have commented, some quite scholarly. There are few films that have been held up to such scrutiny as this one. My reactions are emotional, although I think I could wade in the same waters as some of my predecessors. My approach to movies is to take them as they come. I am so tired of all the talk about special effects that begin almost every review. If you have a high profile film, the special effects are treated as if they are some a form unto themselves, as if they were actually removed from the film. Didn't like the special effects. Didn't like the movie. Sit down for a moment and look at this film. It's wonderful that Kubrick was able to do what he did with those effects, but the way this movie unfolds is so much more than that. This movie is there to portray a sense of the awe of the universe and the future of humankind based on the increments that have led us there. It is about a future that may occur.
Everyone is talking about movie being a disappointment after reading the book. Folks, the movie came out before the book. The movie was originally based on a short story called "The Sentinel" by Arthur C. Clarke. The movie borrows some of its thoughtfulness from "Childhood's End," another Clarke book which deals with similar issues about the ends of humankind and the transmigration of our being. If you are going to enjoy 2001, you have to put away that fixation on the conventional science fiction of the day, with foam rubber aliens and armies of extra-terrestrial implements of destruction. Take a look at Star Wars sometime (by the way, I think it's a wonderful film). It is really a space western, a World War II airplane movie, with a rite of passage thrown in, and the obligatory soap opera stuff with Luke and Darth Vader. No-one can hit anything with laser weapons. Those storm troopers are the most worthless fighting force I have ever seen. It's a fun movie, but when you look at true speculative science fiction, there isn't much to think about, no metaphysics, nothing much to occupy your mind after its over. 2001 sets out to be different and shouldn't be compared to Star Wars; they are apples and oranges. This movie has some of the most breath taking images that stand there in silent space, just getting a reaction. If Independence Day is your thing and everything you see needs to copy it, don't bother to see this movie.