I'm Speechless...

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 2017)

I don't want to give anything away because I want people to have the same experience as I did when I saw this, so there are **no spoilers** ahead. I originally saw this film in the cinema as a reprint of the original 70mm copy. I had heard no reviews of this movie, but knew it was famous by all of the references in pop culture (SpongeBob SquarePants, The Simpsons, The Phantom Menace, etc.). I had no expectations for it to be good or bad, but I was still excited before the film started.
The opening title sequence was so amazing that it gave me goosebumps and made my hair stand on end. 2001 had the best live action visual storytelling I have seen in my entire life. My jaw was dropped during the entire first half and it was the first time I had ever been completely silent and did not talk to anybody during a movie. In fact after the first half, I did not know what to say to anyone. My mouth made sounds, but words would not come out. There were no words to describe my experience so I just said "I'm Speechless".
My expression changed wen I re-entered that universe to witness the second half of this masterpiece of art. It changed from shock and amazement to determined focus. I was trying to find the meaning was to me, as it was never made clear. I thought It was about the constantly changing world of evolution, and more specifically, the evolution of man.
This is what visual storytelling is supposed to be like. The little amounts of dialogue allows you to be immersed in the setting that it gives when dialogue is not present. It also makes the dialogue have more Impact. I highly recommend this to any aspiring film buffs or dedicated science fiction geeks or pretty much anyone who wants a new way to hear a story. My only complaint is the sequel, 2010: The Year We Made Contact. It was extremely bland and probably explained things that were not meant to be explained in 2001's book or film. I say "probably" because I left in the middle of it from being so bored.. On the topic of the book, the film does not quite line up with it, so I would like to also see an adaptation that comes straight from Arthur C. Clarke's novelized version.