2001: A Space Odyssey review

So not really sure where to begin about this movie. This is considered one of the best movies of all time by many critics, because of its experimental story telling and its ground breaking effects. 2001 is based on the short story the Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke. This movie is an epic, that at its heart tells the tale of human evolution. The thing about this movie, is that it isn't really story with plot starting at point A and going from point to point until the end. So in act one, 2001 starts us off with the beginning of mankind on earth. Man is basically just primitive apes at this point in the story. Then one day these primitive men find a strange black monolith, and after touching it they evolve and discover tools. This may even be one of the first "ancient alien" theories to be put into a movie.

In act two we jump forward thousands of years to the futuristic year of 2001, where we are in a world of space travel and lunar settlements. Then on the moon we again find this strange monolith, which we find out is sending a transmission to Jupiter. Then in act three we jump forward to eighteen months, to a mission to Jupiter, where we are introduced to the AI computer named HAL, who is probably most viewers favourite character. In this part of the movie we find our way to, well, I don't know how do describe this without giving away the ending, but hell, even if I told you exactly what happened at this abstract ending of this abstract movie, I still don't think it would give anything away. So act one and two are pretty much straight forward, although absolutely disconnected from each other. Then in act three we start seeing what might almost be considered as a plot. The movie touches on issues of human evolution, man vs machine, alien life, and the mystery of life, the universe, and everything. This movie has been hailed as one of the most scientifically accurate movies as far as space travel, which helps to aid in the eeriness and the silence of the movie. The movie also was one of the early movies to discuss the idea of a computer's AI that develops consciousness and becomes a threat to man, this is a theme that would become common in movies that would come later. The characters are very emotionless in this movie, which is almost unnerving, even as far as character development, there really is none, because the movie isn't really about characters, like I mentioned before I would say that HAL has more emotion than most of the human characters. The sound and dialog in this movie is very sparse, which creates a beautiful atmospheric effect. There will be long silent shots, and then beautiful shots with classical music, which creates a beautiful, artistic effect. Artistically this might be one of the best movies ever made. I like that the ending is up to the viewer, did he find god, did he find an alien life, what the fuck is actually going on, Kubrick never actually comes out and tells you this. Honestly this is a fantastically beautiful movie. Now something I want to discuss here, this movie is extremely slow paced, almost painfully slow paced, I think that this works really well to create the artistic vision that was created. So this movie is definitely not for everyone, I do feel that some viewers would find this movie boring, however, if you open up your mind and let yourself delve into the art of the movie, it is actually really amazing. Speaking to that effect, the movie actually did really poorly in the theaters and was put down by many critics at first. Then there began to be a cult following of younger folks who were into the psychedelic and artsy aspects of the movie, and it is because of those folks that this movie got another chance, and the critics re-reviewed it with a different perspective. This movie is truly amazing, this movie is a groundbreaking work of art, that has influenced and inspired so many people, and has become an important part of our pop culture. The effects are simply breathtaking. This movie also brought sci-fi movies from low budget B-movies to now being a big budget mainstream movie. So many elements of this movie are absolutely groundbreaking. Someone once told me, "show them, don't tell them", and that is something that this movie does well, it shows you its vision it doesn't tell you its vision. The story and plot is super subtle, and much of the story is left to the perspective of the viewer. I don't think that anyone is supposed to know what the movie means, it is up to each individual viewer to decide what the movie means, and what it is about. This movie needs to be as slow as it was, it needs to be as quiet as it was, it needs to be as mysterious as it is, that is what made this movie so amazing, so unsettling, such an amazing work of art. Another thing to remember too is that there was no CGI back in 1968 when this movie was made, that these amazing effects were somehow practical effects which makes this movie even more impressive and groundbreaking. I mean I really don't know what I want to say about this movie, other than it really is an amazing work of art. Would I recommend this movie? Yes absolutely, it is one of the greatest movies ever made, although it is also a very unconventional movie, and a very thought provoking work of art. Yes, I think everyone needs to see this movie, though I do feel that there are some people out there who would find it too cerebral, and too slow, but I still encourage them to keep watching, and to really think about this amazing work of art.