Overrated Kubrick film

Rating: Null/10 (24 May 2003)

This movie suffers the same fault as all other Kubrick films, being ponderously slow. As soon as the space adventure starts, this does add to the realism however, giving a good idea what it's like being in space.
The beginning of the movie (the monkey business) is, on the other hand, a torture to watch and listen to. It's not thought-provoking, necessary or entertaining in any way! What was Kubrick thinking when making that intro? It spoils a large part of the movie, in fact the first hour is best skipped for it's tediousness.
The second part gets much better with the homicidal Hal computer which strives for it's own survival by any means necessary and the mysterious (alien?) Monolith. I must say, no matter how fascinating others might think it is, this did seem a story that even the writers themselves didn't understand. What you get is a vague and pretentious plot line with more questions than answers. This would not be a bad thing if it weren't for the fact that the questions evolve around trying to understand the plot rather than genuinely interesting issues.
All in all that makes this a grossly overrated film, which intellectuals around the world will adore nonetheless because the less people that understand it, the more the smarties will like it, after all it's so much fun feeling smarter than others, is it not? 6,5 out of 10