Mysterious alien artifact

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2019)

The discovery of a mysterious alien object sends man on the trip of a lifetime. Keir Dullea as Dr. Dave Bowman goes on a space voyage with his fellow astronaut, Gary Lockwood as Dr. Frank Poole, and their perfect intelligent computer HAL 9000, voiced by Douglas Rain. The trio embark on a mission to Jupiter along with three hibernating companions. Unbeknownst to Bowman and Poole, their mission is not what it seems to be.
The simplest theme for 2001: A Space Odyssey is the evolution of man. Through actions taken by others, man begins to evolve. This filmmaker depicts this in the scene of the first encounter of proto-humans with the monolith with their gaining the first tool usage. Additionally, the film explores the relationship between man and his technology, a gift given to him that he did not choose.
The strong allusions to Homer's Odyssey are hard to miss in this film. Bowman makes a good stand in for Odysseus-the archer-both traveling on a far journey by ship to evolve their character, one to home and one to the future of mankind. HAL is the Cyclops of course, down to the small "stick" Bowman uses to poke out his "eye," or space-screwdriver to remove his higher functions. Bowman even goes into a cave to kill HAL, mirroring Odysseus again.
The impact of man's technology is shown in several scenes, some good and some bad. The very first use of technology, the club, results in good and bad. Proto-man gathers food more efficiently, but them uses that same technology to wage war and kill other proto-humans. Thus begins man's relationship with technology, good and bad. Man makes an outstanding computer, but then because of man's own failures, his technology turns on him. This motif used throughout the movie to show the costs of technology that comes from man's evolution.
The space scenes, mostly shown in blue, indicate technology used for good, and the red scenes show technology's darker side, as noted in the Dawn of Man scenes and in HAL's single red eye. This motif illustrates that technology is neutral. How man uses it is up to him. Thus, man's evolution will decide if he uses technology for good or bad, though man chooses one as often as the other.
The ending leaves room for interpretations, so each person can put a little of their own interpretation on the story. Having arrived at Jupiter alone, Bowman finds another monolith and has an encounter with it that sends him through space, time, and evolution by instilling knowledge in him. Once he rests and swiftly uses his remaining human life, he is reborn as an energy being watching over the Earth. Or possibly he is saying goodbye, the viewer decides.
Whether it is the major steps in evolution from the Dawn of Man, or Bowman's final evolution, the theme of evolution and its repercussions are notable throughout the film. With the full impact of technologies like the Internet and smartphones still playing out, the film's warnings about our use of technology is as relevant as it was 50 years ago. With special effects that were ahead of its time and universal themes, this a classic film that is still as engaging as it was when Kubrick created it, maybe even more so.