Great movie, but you'll see it 3-5 times before understanding.

Rating: Null/10 (28 July 2001)

***Warning!!! Just in case anyone at IMDb is picky, this might contain spoiler!!!*** I'm not from the 60s, and I never got to see this gem on the big screen. I wish I had.
The visual effects are astounding even when viewed on my 17" computer monitor at home, but they must be hundreds of times better on the big screen. The music, though mostly just classical music, is pretty good too.
One of the best/worst features [depending on how you see it], is that you have to see it over and over before you can get any true meaning of it, aside from the HAL part. That's what you understand at the beginning. But the monoliths and the rooms and the ugly baby in a bubble somewhere in space takes time, and lots of it, to understand.
However, the predicting is so-so. We don't have colonies on the moon, visiting Jupiter is still just a dream, etc.
The one thing that gets me, though, is the speed of the movie. I know that apes didn't just pick up a stick and then evolve into humans and start carrying around laptops and such, but it doesn't take forever and several days to just show something like an ape learning to use a tool.
I'm sure I'll buy this the next time I see it somewhere. Don't just rent this movie, buy it, because you'll be seeing it over and over again, once again, you view that as the positive or negative point.
Overall, I give this a 9.5 out of 10. It should definetely be a part of any sci-fi or movie buff's collection.