One of the brightest shining stars in movie history

Rating: 10/10 (24 December 2011)

In hypothetical 2001 Stanley Kubrick takes you on a unique journey into the unknown, far out there in the vast reaches of our universe, where man is alone with himself - or is it? Paying close attention to scientific accuracy Kubrick's vision of the future feels so close to reality that it is still convincing many years after the year 2001 actually has passed, setting the benchmark way up for everyone else who should try to follow up with sci-fi approaches put to celluloid. But whoever might try their hands on a similar subject, the supreme beauty of what sprang from Kubrick's ingenuity will always be something to marvel at. Remember that the mother of all space operas was produced at a historic time shortly before man made his first step on the moon - and since then "2001" has remained the unparalleled sci-fi revelation not only due to its highly effective realism, but also its sophistication, depth and audio-visual magnificence, all rolled into one.
Yet undoubtedly "2001" is so much more than just a perfectly executed sci-fi picture. It's a voyage dealing not only with space exploration, but also with evolution, belief, artificial intelligence, alien life forms, metaphysics, philosophy, in short: man himself, his aspirations and challenges - and tries to point into what lies beyond. Or - if you want - one can still enjoy the picture just as the ultimate adventure. Take your pick! Feel free to draw your own conclusions, but there's a lot to get out of this multilayered film, providing you are ready to put your mind to it. "2001" is a movie for the ages, a sublime experience of transcendency, a film that represents the epitome of art in terms of film-making, best summarized with one single word: a masterpiece.