A great, powerful, and unique cinema masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2006)

Like all works of art, great or not, however, there will be those who prefer not the qualities that make this movie great. Some say it's excruciatingly boring, and that there is just not enough plot. There are more elements to movies than explosive action and a typical, dialog-driven storyline.
This movie takes some of the core elements that make movies great and expands and perfects them in a way no movie before it, to my knowledge, has never attempted or at least succeeded in doing. Because of this, it is somewhat abstract, which turns off many viewers, much in the way many people do not like abstract paintings. People want too much to know what is going on. They want the work's meaning to be force fed to them so that they don't have to go through the confusion of discovering what it means for themselves.
It really is a love-it or hate-it kind of film, and is not for everyone. Personally, I love the movie, I can watch it over and over and love it more every time I do because of the beauty of every scene. The music, the camera angles, the pace, it's all perfect in my opinion, I would of not changed a thing. Kubrick portrays even the most simple of scenes with perfection, unmatched even by some of best movies these days.
Never before have I seen such a powerful portrayal of space. He fills it life and death, beauty and fear, all at the same time. In any other movie, you will see space as nothing more than a place, yet Kubrich manages to make it seem as though it is living.
For potential viewers, I will say this. If you are a fan of movies with action or straight forward plot and don't tend to mind if they lack heavily in terms of core cinematic elements then you probably won't like this movie very much, but if you believe in cinema as art, then you must watch this movie. You will not regret it.