One of the greatest movies ever made

Rating: 10/10 (18 September 2002)

2001 is an abstract movie that will divide the audience into two camps, those who understand it and those who don't. If you understand this movie then there is no question that it is one of the greatest movies ever made. If you don't understand it then you will hate it.
I have now seen this movie twice. The first time was when I was about 9 years old. I was used to the fast action and popcorn storylines of movies like Star Wars. The extremely slow pace of 2001 and it's lack of dialogue meant that I really didn't take much notice of what was going on and became bored with it pretty quickly. Since then, I became interested in Star Trek (which has a number of extremely thought provoking episodes (eg: TNG "The Measure of a Man")) and other sci-fi with more intelligent storylines.

This leads me to earlier this year when I had the opportunity to see 2001 again (this time on DVD in full widescreen). It had been so long since I originally saw the movie that I really didn't know what to expect. As the move progressed, I began to think about the themes and ideas behind it. To put it simply, I changed my ideas about this movie completely. It is a brilliant film and I don't think we'll ever see anything like it again. The key to enjoying this movie is how you interpret it. Don't expect to the story to be spoon-fed to you like most other movies. You have to think about this one.
*** some spoilers ahead ***
My interpretation of this movie is that it is a story of human evolution. The monoliths represent some something that affects humans (and our ancestors in the early stages of the films) and allows them to "take the next step". One interpretation is that it could be an alien influence, but there are a number of possibilities.
The movie can be broken up into a number of different sections. The first is "The Dawn of Man". In this section of the movie, one group of "ape men" discover a monolith. After this, they gain the knowledge and ability to use weapons and tools. This gives them an advantage over their rivals.
The movie then jumps into the future where an unidentified object has been discovered on the moon. Eventually we find out that this is another monolith. This acts as a catalyst and mankind begins to explore the solar system. ie: For the first time we are leaving the vicinity of our planet. The first stage of this is an expidition to Jupiter.
Upon reaching Jupiter another monolith is found. This is where the most abstract part of the movie occurs. I won't say anything about it, except this. How would anyone show something beyond our ability to understand? This is what I think this section represents. This is where mankind takes the next step and evolves further.
There is also the story of HAL during the voyage to Jupiter. Again, think about what HAL represents. Also think about why HAL seems to have more personality than the human crewmembers. It is much more than just a simple story of a psycho computer! ;-)
*** spoilers end ***
I would give this movie 100/10 if I could. This is science fiction at its best. BTW, if you can, watch the widescreen version on DVD. Many of the shots are lost in the conversion to 4:3 pan & scan.