A guideline for what Sci-Fi movies should be

Rating: 10/10 (22 January 2013)

I'm choosing to do my first IMDb review for 2001: A Space Odyssey because it impacted me in a way that I can't say any other film ever has. It's a movie I longed for without ever knowing it existed. How can a movie with so little dialogue say so much to those who watch it? First I'd like to say that, if for no other reason at all, 2001 is one of the greatest films of all time solely because it is so visually striking. For a film released in 1968, you would almost be fooled into thinking that Kubrick had futuristic CGI technology at his disposal during the creation of his masterpiece. The space scenes are that vibrant and life-like. All of the set pieces are stunningly authentic feeling, which I attribute to good timing: filming a space movie smack dab in the middle of the space race must have provided a great visual guideline for Kubrick to follow. The special effects are top-notch, and although I already mentioned that some shots were CGI like in quality, that's only because you don't assume that such great special effects could be found in a movie from '68. But the reality is that many shots are, in some ways, better than any CGI animation could dream of being. There is no substitute for a highly detailed model or set piece, and that feeling they provide that you could almost reach out and touch them, which is routinely achieved in 2001.
There is so much to be said about the feeling of authenticity in 2001. One of my biggest gripes with almost all sci-fi films is just how unauthentic and unrealistic they feel. Am I lacking in imagination and vision? Certainly not, I simply find it much easier to relate to a film that is based in some form of reality that I am familiar with. It goes without saying that I have never witnessed primitive human species in Africa or spacecraft navigation to the moon or Jupiter firsthand, but Kubrick's 2001 makes me feel as if I have. He takes the world we live in and witness on our t.v. sets and simultaneously brings them to our living rooms as well as the other side of the universe. I respect movie makers who create elaborate spacecraft with mysterious propulsion systems, a plethora of alien races and features, technology so advanced that even the explanations of those technologies don't seem to fully make sense. I respect the vision that other directors can portray on scene in other-worldly science fiction films, but I have never related to anything quite like what 2001 created. Everything was believable and authentic feeling. This idea is so often under-looked and left behind in science fiction, as the most outrageous ideas dominate the story and scenery.
Onto the story itself, again, I feel that it's simplicity is what makes it so extraordinary. 2001 doesn't center around some unbelievable and extravagant plot, consisting of vast explanations and plot twists that require large suspensions of reality by movie-goers. The plot of the 2001 does a fantastic job of mostly speaking for, and explaining, itself, leaving the mind to focus on the visuals, the sounds (or lack there of) and the magnitude of questioning our origins on earth. Another fantastic quality to this movie that I wish would be emulated more often in sci-fi Hollywood.
A review of 2001 without any analysis of the audio would not be considered complete by any stretch of the imagination. Many scenes rely almost entirely on the sounds, music, or pure silence. Kubrick uses powerfully orchestrated music to coincide with the stunning visuals, creating the most positive form of sensory overload imaginable. The music played during the astronauts walk to the monolith on the moon is utterly hair raising. The very same music could be played to a video of two kittens cuddling, and I would undoubtedly feel inexplicably frightened. It's that powerful and moving.
All three of these positive qualities that make up 2001 are the qualities I have so often longed for in other sci-fi movies, yet never found. I feel a bit silly to know that there has been a movie out there all along that incorporates all of the qualities almost flawlessly that is nearly 20 years older than myself.
Now, for the ending. I have read other IMDb reviews that are critical of the ending, and I must say that it is the only portion of the film that I felt ran a little astray. When David finally reaches the space surrounding Jupiter my attention, intrigue and suspense is at an all time high. Whether it be a product of lack of technological ability to create the desired special effects, time constraints, or possibly Kubrick himself didn't have a complete vision on where he wanted the end of his story to go, the climax of 2001 is rather confusing and unsatisfying. I hate to write those words in talking about what is easily one of my new favorites, if not my absolute favorite, of all time. But it is the truth and I wouldn't be doing the film any justice by giving an incomplete opinion of the ending. I grasped the concept, for the most part, of traveling thru a star gate, but after that I was mostly lost, confused and felt completely taken out of the story that had done so much to bring me into it leading up to that point. The entire world that Kubrick so masterfully created seemed to come shattering down inside the walls of a strange, alien, Victorian bedroom.
That being said, it at least ended on some form of positive feeling of familiarity, with the young life-form overlooking earth with the powerful symphony playing behind him.
Overall: amazing film, outstanding visual/effects, stunning score, genius film making. No other sci-fi film compares, in my eyes.