Cole's Rating: ★★
Jesse's Rating: ★★★ ½
Darius' Rating: ★★★★
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Year: 1968
Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, Douglas Rain
Genre: Adventure/Mystery/Sci-Fi
MPAA Rating: G
Cole's Take: I can't believe how surprised I am at my reaction to this movie! “2001” for me, was a tantalizingly dull film that made a clever approach at revolutionizing science-fiction. It deemed that opinion for very few (I’m in the minority), and this for others: a brilliantly captured chronicle of man’s cycle of life, with mesmerizing effects and cunning direction. I’ll give Stanley Kubrick props, it’s a very cherished film by most people (including all of my fellow critics, seen on this co-review), and it’s very ambitious for its time, not to mention it’s success with its visual effects in the 1968 Academy Awards. But I’m rarely a fan of sci-fi anyway, so this film just about bored me to death. I know that people—sorry, moviegoers—would say that I didn’t appreciate its brilliance. My response to that would be: I didn’t see much to appreciate, for all it’s talked up to be. I observed it carefully, and came to this conclusion: “2001” is not a film for me. It has some classical elements, and some interesting scenes/ideas, but altogether, I didn't enjoy it. Maybe it’s because I would have appreciated it more when it came out (in its time) but based on my experience, I would go ahead and change the title to No Fun: A Graceful Nod-To-Sleep.
Jesse's Take: 2001: A Space Odyssey is a movie celebration of visual proficiency and technical savagery that in 1968, was so far ahead of its time; it's scary. This film has the power to allow debate and obtain thousands of different interpretations from moviegoers all over the world. It's all about the evolution of humans told through different 4 different sections, all brilliant and somewhat slow paced. But if you real take the time soak it all in, you get a calculated and original masterstroke formulated by none other than acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick. "2001" spends a majority of time showcasing its sequences in outer space and like the actors, has a cold and icy way of speaking to the viewer that takes it in. However, there are so many classic scenes, so many "awe" moments that you can't help but surrender to the eerie beauty that occupies the screen for almost 2 and a half hours. In truth, most people either love or hate this movie. In fact, it may take up 3 to 4 viewings before you can totally embrace it. Nevertheless, it's edited to perfection, scored for nullifying effect, and next to The Shining, this for me, is Kubrick's finest hour. He may be gone now, but 2001: A Space Odyssey lives on forever.
Darius' Take: Although it is a very slow movie to sit through as discussed in the co-review, I still think the atmosphere speaks for itself in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I also think that the characters are some of the best in history. The story basically revolves around a group of men in hyper sleep, 6 crew, and the most powerful supercomputer in history, named HAL. HAL has the ability to think for himself, which becomes a huge problem on the ship. All the while, a mysterious monolith follows the main character everywhere, which is explained to have been around since the dawn of man. Every time it appears, an evolutionary break though happens. This film is great for a number of reasons. First, is the lack of dialogue, which you think would be a problem. Actually, it gives the movie a charm not seen since the silent era. Sometimes we all have to follow Griffith's law: Sometimes the best movie is one that says nothing. Second is the symbolic undertones. Everything can mean something different/deeper in this movie. The monolith is often cited as god, evolution, human nature, and the list goes on and on. You can watch it as many time as as possible and never see it the same way. Finally is HAL, ironically the most human of the characters, having worries, fears, lying, cheating and acting calm while the others act emotionless and robotic. The thing that's so disturbing about HAL is that we made him, and can make him in the future, if science goes our way. and then the dream will be a reality. Accented with the beautiful sweeping "Blue Danube" and thrown together with special effects that rival our present day ones, “2001” is not only up to snuff with classic art and literature (and can be analyzed as such too), it is my all time favorite film.
Cole's Take: I can't believe how surprised I am at my reaction to this movie! “2001” for me, was a tantalizingly dull film that made a clever approach at revolutionizing science-fiction. It deemed that opinion for very few (I’m in the minority), and this for others: a brilliantly captured chronicle of man’s cycle of life, with mesmerizing effects and cunning direction. I’ll give Stanley Kubrick props, it’s a very cherished film by most people (including all of my fellow critics, seen on this co-review), and it’s very ambitious for its time, not to mention it’s success with its visual effects in the 1968 Academy Awards. But I’m rarely a fan of sci-fi anyway, so this film just about bored me to death. I know that people—sorry, moviegoers—would say that I didn’t appreciate its brilliance. My response to that would be: I didn’t see much to appreciate, for all it’s talked up to be. I observed it carefully, and came to this conclusion: “2001” is not a film for me. It has some classical elements, and some interesting scenes/ideas, but altogether, I didn't enjoy it. Maybe it’s because I would have appreciated it more when it came out (in its time) but based on my experience, I would go ahead and change the title to No Fun: A Graceful Nod-To-Sleep.
Jesse's Take: 2001: A Space Odyssey is a movie celebration of visual proficiency and technical savagery that in 1968, was so far ahead of its time; it's scary. This film has the power to allow debate and obtain thousands of different interpretations from moviegoers all over the world. It's all about the evolution of humans told through different 4 different sections, all brilliant and somewhat slow paced. But if you real take the time soak it all in, you get a calculated and original masterstroke formulated by none other than acclaimed director Stanley Kubrick. "2001" spends a majority of time showcasing its sequences in outer space and like the actors, has a cold and icy way of speaking to the viewer that takes it in. However, there are so many classic scenes, so many "awe" moments that you can't help but surrender to the eerie beauty that occupies the screen for almost 2 and a half hours. In truth, most people either love or hate this movie. In fact, it may take up 3 to 4 viewings before you can totally embrace it. Nevertheless, it's edited to perfection, scored for nullifying effect, and next to The Shining, this for me, is Kubrick's finest hour. He may be gone now, but 2001: A Space Odyssey lives on forever.
Darius' Take: Although it is a very slow movie to sit through as discussed in the co-review, I still think the atmosphere speaks for itself in 2001: A Space Odyssey. I also think that the characters are some of the best in history. The story basically revolves around a group of men in hyper sleep, 6 crew, and the most powerful supercomputer in history, named HAL. HAL has the ability to think for himself, which becomes a huge problem on the ship. All the while, a mysterious monolith follows the main character everywhere, which is explained to have been around since the dawn of man. Every time it appears, an evolutionary break though happens. This film is great for a number of reasons. First, is the lack of dialogue, which you think would be a problem. Actually, it gives the movie a charm not seen since the silent era. Sometimes we all have to follow Griffith's law: Sometimes the best movie is one that says nothing. Second is the symbolic undertones. Everything can mean something different/deeper in this movie. The monolith is often cited as god, evolution, human nature, and the list goes on and on. You can watch it as many time as as possible and never see it the same way. Finally is HAL, ironically the most human of the characters, having worries, fears, lying, cheating and acting calm while the others act emotionless and robotic. The thing that's so disturbing about HAL is that we made him, and can make him in the future, if science goes our way. and then the dream will be a reality. Accented with the beautiful sweeping "Blue Danube" and thrown together with special effects that rival our present day ones, “2001” is not only up to snuff with classic art and literature (and can be analyzed as such too), it is my all time favorite film.
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