Watch it Three Times, At Minimum.

Rating: 10/10 (27 June 2007)

There are three types of movies, to me at least. The director's film (the one where the directing takes the front seat), the actor's film (the one where the performances are the only worthwhile thing), and the scripted film (the one where the writing outshines everything else.) This is a director's film. The acting is pretty good, considering we don't see too much of it, and the writing is decent enough, but its Kubrick's directorial vision that really makes this film brilliant. If I had to choose one film to prove Kubrick's madness and his genius, I'd choose this one.
I must warn you, this movie is absolute crap to most people when viewed the first time. I thought it was the single most overrated piece of junk ever to be spurned out of Hollywood's behind the first time I watched it. With multiple viewings though, it becomes apparent why this film is on every movie critic's top 100 list. You have to give this movie a chance, and you have to be open and pay full attention. Its not a movie that you can snooze through and still understand(thank God!) The reason why many people don't like it is because no one will ever fully understand it (even if you do pay attention) and it forces you into a bad, disturbing, and unsettling trip. This is thanks in part to the soundtrack(how much you understand the film is determined by how much you listened to the overture) and Kubrick's knack for visuals. This could have easily been an educational documentary into space, but Kubrick instead made it an eerie lapse into our future. Almost like we're feeling what the astronauts are feeling (going into the unknown; being fearful; etc.) And who can forget the revolutionary visuals? Considering there was no technology back then as there is today, this movie is a pretty great feat. The visuals do stand the test of time, for they are still awe-worthy and dumbfounding. You just don't get something as good as this, even with all of our technological advances, in today's cinema (the closest we've come to these great feats are probably with the Lord of The Rings movies..)
One final thing before I conclude; this movie scares the hell out of me. Kubrick was intelligent, because he knew that cheap thrills were only a superficial scare, but a man's real terror is his fear of the unknown and his fear of the future. In fact, this movie is more terrifying than most horror films that come out today. I can't stress how important it is to pay full attention to this film, because it can't take you on the amazingly unsettling journey (it wasn't called A Space Odyssey for the hell of it) if you don't. Most of you may find it hard to do this (I'll admit, everything until the HAL sequences are bores the first time you watch it) but its crucial for you to do. Because if you don't, you will miss out on how great this movie is, and you will regret that $4.99 you paid to rent it.
and like the title says, please watch it three times at minimum.
~Frankie.