"Open the Pod Bay Doors, HAL"

Rating: 8/10 (2 April 2020)

A lot of people don't like this movie, and putting the label on them stating they just don't "get it" really isn't fair. Because a lot of the criticisms against the movie are valid. The lack of dialogue and extended musical/visual scenes are definitely not something the general film-going public nowadays will flock to see (it's an absolute shame, but it's the reality). It truly is a slow-paced movie without much of a plot, too, which a lot of people dislike the film for.
Today, on its fifty-second anniversary, i have finally decided to sit down and view the film from start to finish, and I have to say I'm thoroughly impressed.
This isn't a movie that is designed to be watched like other movies. It's not something you can put on in the background while you're making supper or doing the dishes; this is a film that requires you to both watch and contemplate throughout. The stunning visuals (that held up over the years, I might add) only serve to amplify the beauty in simplicity that Kubrick was going for in this film.
With 2001: A Space Odyssey, you really get out of the movie what you put in. If you're looking for casual entertainment that can provide background noise while you surf your phone, this film will be a major disappointment. If you're looking for some deep plot, you'll also, likewise, be disappointed. George Lucas said it best himself when he explained the plot as being "razor thin." It's an extremely basic story told in a very grandiose way. It's pretentious (I don't mind), it's rambling (somehow I ended up enjoying all the extended sequences), and it's unlike anything else, which is both a good and a bad thing. Good in the sense that, aside from being parodied and tributed (not a word) to absolute death, there hasn't really been anything to my knowledge that has come out that felt like an imitation of this film. It's a bad thing because I would definitely have loved for Kubrick to explore this kind of filmmaking a little more in his lifetime.
This is a confusing, baffling, mind-bending movie that requires more than one watch, without question. Film students adore it; Kubrick and sci-fi fans around the world hail it for what it accomplished both cinematically and in terms of its unique story-telling antics.
The immediate response coming fresh off this movie is definite confusion, but a curiosity to gain better understanding of what played out on-screen and how such a thing applies to me in my own life.
Definitely a satisfying, if simultaneously maddening, experience.