A work of art? Yes. A movie? Hmm..

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2002)

I'm very torn on this movie after seeing it. I've read several reviews on this site that say things along the lines of "This is more than a movie, it's a work of art". I'd like to disagree slightly; this IS a work of art, but it is very barely a movie.
*Spoilers*
I'm really at a loss on how to discuss this movie, so I'll do the simplistic thing and compare the parts I enjoyed with the parts I didn't enjoy.
First off, this movie uses music and sound to create an atmosphere better than any other movie I have ever seen. There is no contest whatsoever. The special effects are also superb, which becomes even more impressive once you consider that this movie was made in the 60's... they're really as good as movies I see released today. I loved the image of the monolith and the music that accompanied it, it was truly awe inspiring. I loved the "white room" sequence at the end of the film, and it didn't even really matter to me that it had no "plot" behind it. All in all, the second half of the movie is consistently amazing in the visuals it presents and the soundtrack that accompanies it.
Now the parts I did not like... There is an attempt made to give the movie a plot about man's discovery of these monoliths, and the whole business of the HAL 9000 "rebelling" against the human inhabitants of the spaceship, which is what most people bring up about the movie. I have no idea why this "storyline" is even present. First off, it's barely realized. The characters have no depth or personality, so the viewer cannot be expected to care what happens to them. The plot doesn't have any kind of setup or conclusion, and hence is largely pointless. Second, it's completely irrelevant. This is a movie of sound and image, not of narration or dialogue.
Unfortunately, this pseudo-plot plays a very nasty trick on people who watch the movie for the first time, as you begin to ever sooooo slowly be involved in the "story", only to have it go absolutely nowhere. This is a work that's so completely different from any other movie I've ever seen that judging it as "a sci-fi movie" is like judging Romeo and Juliet as "an erotic novel".
I have only seen this movie once, a few hours ago, and I don't think I could bear watching it back to back... it's far too complex for that. Right now I am at a loss as to what rating it deserves. Part of me wants to give it a 7 or an 8 because of the seemingly pointless half-plot that takes up a good hour and a half of the movie, and part of me wants to give it a 10 regardless.
P.S. I've noticed more than a few reviews who imply that anyone who doesn't absolutely love this movie is a simpleton with no attention span and no appreciation of art. I think that's a pathetically childish view. Different people have different tastes. It's really as simple as that. Just because they differ from yours, doesn't mean they're inferior.