"We are all by any practical definition of the words..., foolproof and incapable of error".

Rating: 8/10 (29 March 2011)

Notwithstanding Kubrick's status as a legendary director and the film's reputation as a visionary achievement of the genre, I find myself pretty much right in the middle on this picture. For 1968, there is no doubt that '2001' set some high bars for sci-fi in film, but watching today with the passage of four decades, there is a lot that works against it's being the monumental must see that it was when first released. I'm thinking about the extended opening with the ape tribes, and the long psychedelic sequence near the finale that certainly wowed audiences back in the day. Sure, I get it, the picture was portraying one man's interpretation of the evolutionary stages of man, but there's a lot to sit through to get to the point.
The best part of the picture for me was the confrontation between HAL and Dr. Bowman (Keir Dullea), but even there, I find myself with some conflicting ideas about what happened in the story, on two points. For one, I find it difficult to believe that enlightened computer programmers of the future would have given HAL the ability to violate an essential code of human conduct, to commit murder in the interest of self preservation. A machine does not have priority over humanity. Secondly, HAL should have recognized this flaw in his programming, and acted to either repair it or terminate his own existence. William Shatner actually talked a few of his computer adversaries into committing suicide in a handful of Star Trek episodes when it appeared they were going out of control. Those stories also came out in the late 1960's and played out to a much more logical conclusion than having HAL stand his ground only to be terminated by Dave's back door sabotage.
Even with my misgivings though, I can say that my appreciation for the picture has grown with repeated viewings, and I will wind up watching it again as time goes by. However I don't expect something to click in a way that makes me see it as the kind of masterpiece many give it credit for. That rocket has left the launchpad.