Watch this at 2x speed

Rating: 4/10 (24 October 2005)

I'm a huge fan of Arthur C. Clarke, I think that Kubrick has made many fine movies, and I've watched this movie three times, so before the fans pile onto me I'd just like to say that this opinion isn't stemming from ignorance or bias. That said, 2001 is totally unwatchable as originally made. There's an interesting story being told here, but it's hidden too deeply behind scenes that were technically impressive in 1968 but are merely overdrawn and boring to today's CGI-jaded eye. By all means, watch this movie if you're the arty type who likes extended scenes that don't do anything in particular, but for the average movie-watcher, there's simply not enough content there to justify spending two hours on it. Either find someone who cut it down to a 45-minute short and watch that version, or watch it on DVD at 2x speed. I fully recommend it to anyone given that, but the average person is simply wasting their time trying to watch the original version.