I so much wanted to like it but...

Rating: 5/10 (10 November 2014)

I'm really sorry. I so much wanted to like this film. So much has gone into it and the concept is good, but it just didn't work for me.
I found this to be a compact and fanciful story stretched up to intergalactically implausible proportions. It didn't ring true, and it was full of Hollywood formulae, like clumsy cliffhangers. And why did we have to have a Western-style fight scene on an icy planet on the other side of a black hole? There were no punches thrown in 2001.
People will say it was too long but it wouldn't be any better if it was shorter. It is also an unremittingly dark and depressing film except for certain aspects. The brilliant special effects, loud sound track and music served to mask the shortcomings.
On the plus side it is thought-provoking about space and physics, the actors gave everything, especially the main character, he was brilliant - it didn't have George Clooney in it a big plus. The concept is excellent, and it dramatises aspects of Einstein's theory of relativity such as meeting your children who have grown older than you.
I hope a lot of people like it, as I wouldn't want all that effort and commitment to go to waste, so just ignore my opinion! Go and watch it and make up your own mind!