Movie #79 - 2001: A Space Odyssey

"Let the Awe and Mystery of a Journey Unlike Any Other Begin."

For years as an avid movie fan, I had wanted to watch this movie. In fact, I had only seen this movie once in my lifetime and since then, have only seen snippets on television or when they do profile or biography shows on Stanley Kubrick.

The build-up and anticipation of watching this film was huge back when I was a young teenager. Its been 14 years since I have seen this film, and my opinion still stands. It is one of the wonderfully shot and imaginative movies out there, with a classical soundtrack that suits the images on the screen - however... its just plain weird.

Don't get me wrong, I am a giant science fiction fan, growing up with shows and movies like Star Trek, Star Wars, X-Files... the list goes on. However, nothing can prepare you with how weird this movie is.

One of the main reasons that I haven't watched this film in quite a long time is its length and overall slowness to develop plot. Without providing too many spoilers, the first hour delves into the origin of the obelisk and how influential it was on the origin of mankind. Then the next hour seems to drag on as Kubrick focuses on the beauty of space and the various space vehicles and stations that exist in 2001.

What's great about this film - back in 1968, movies about space and space travel were never done before and so having a movie of this stature really influenced the genre on the whole. Kubrick's panoramic shots and use of angles captured the essence of the emptiness of space and the overall beauty at the same time. While using classical scores was a treat in the end. In addition, the character of the artificial intelligence, Hal 9000, has evolved into a cult classic, even being used as the AI in Apple Computers of recent years.

In the end - you'll like many parts of this movie, but you may end up on the fence of how much you like the whole picture. If you can avoid watching the sequel starring Roy Scheider and Helen Mirren, you're lucky... unfortunately, I wasn't able to avoid it and sought it out this year - big mistake on my part as it put a bad taste in my mouth on the franchise.