Mindblowing and awe-inspiring.

Rating: 10/10 (7 July 2008)

'2001: A Space Odyssey'. To accuse this film of taking its time would be a gross understatement. '2001' takes the scenic route, and it indulges in every moment of it. It is a film as tedious as it is beautiful, poetic as it is baffling. A true work of genius, or boring and bloated? You decide. But one thing is for sure, Stanley Kubrick's 'Space Odyssey' is cinema like you've never seen before, an experience like none other.
One cannot approach a film like '2001' the way you would any other picture. In fact, you can't really approach it as a film at all. It is a truly unique project, and an immensely risky move by Kubrick. There is little dialogue to be found (the first spoken words actually don't appear until nearly 30 minutes into the film), and a magnificent, mood-altering score often replaces would-be narratives. Most of all, '2001' is one of the most spectacularly visual films I have ever seen. A movie has never looked so damn good, so beautiful. And all this in 1968, before mankind first set foot on the moon.
'A Space Odyssey' can be divided into three parts, an eerie intermission included, each surrounding man's (from the most primitive) transfixion with the mysterious and alien monolith. 'Dawn of Man' is a methodical, brilliantly constructed look at man's earliest ancestor, the ape. The beauty continues, through man's discovery of this ancient monolith buried on the moon, to an unnerving discovery mission to Jupiter. Few films have dared go where '2001' is more than willing to explore, and it's well-worth an epic running length.
'2001' draws up a rather disturbing yet realistic vision of the future. The year 2001 has come and gone, and with it some of the film's ideas of what the future would be like. Some have yet to become a reality, but few seem completely implausible. It's what makes '2001' at times a very unsettling experience. It looks to a time and place where few barriers remain to be crossed, and where the technology we ourselves created may very well be our fatal flaw. For it is during a space mission to Jupiter that we are introduced to Hal, an extremely advanced computer in charge of most operations on-board the space ship. Hal communicates with the crew, and appears to be capable of experiencing emotion. No spoilers here, but Hal gives birth to one of the most genuinely terrifying villains ever seen in film.
At the heart of '2001' remains a puzzling mystery to which there really is no definitive answer. Kubrick intentionally leaves the film open for interpretation, nothing is handed to us on a silver platter. But just what this picture trying to tell us? Perhaps we have to travel back, millions of years in fact, to man's most primitive form. How far have we come? No, how far have we truly come? Are we really any better off than we were? It is the elusive unknown we still chase, looking for answers. '2001' speaks in a language full of symbolism, imagery, and metaphors. Perhaps searching for answers isn't the point, perhaps it's all about appreciating the vast beauty we find ourselves apart of.
Prepare to be taken where film has never gone before. '2001: A Space Odyssey' is a moving space opera that will dazzle and leave you breathless. Is it an easy film to sit through? Certainly not. But after all, I don't believe Stanley Kubrick made this daring masterpiece for a generation whose attention span barely lasts longer than a television commercial. It is a deliberate, methodical work that raises more questions than it cares to answer, and I'd be lying if I said I never felt frustrated by this complex and deeply thought-provoking movie. But is it one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen? Yes. Is it a masterpiece like we've never seen before or will ever see again? Yes. Is it one of the best films ever made? Yes, I believe it is.
"You're free to speculate as you wish about the philosophical and allegorical meaning of the filmand such speculation is one indication that it has succeeded in gripping the audience at a deep levelbut I don't want to spell out a verbal road map for 2001 that every viewer will feel obligated to pursue or else fear he's missed the point." - Stanley Kubrick
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