Having been born in the 80's I am one of many people alive today that did not have the opportunity to see 2001 in the theaters. I also never put aside the time to actually sit down and watch it... until now. Having never seen 2001 before, my hope is to bring a unique and modern look at whether the film holds up to today's standards.
The Good:
+ The visuals are the first thing anyone should notice in the 2001. And let me say... they hold up perfectly. I love modern technology and they way that it allows us to create anything with computers. Allowing us to literally see anything we can imagine. But there is something to say about the earlier movies and the way that had to create techniques and tricks just to get close to what they were imagining.
+ The sets. Rotating space stations that simulate gravity is one thing, but then to utilize those sets to find unique angles for shooting the film is remarkable. Almost every angle is slightly angles to give the illusion that directionality is all relative in space.
+ The silence. "In space no one can hear you scream." Modern movies feel that there always has to be something going on. A character talking, singing, or dancing. Maybe some traffic in the background. Or in Michael Bay's case, maybe a few explosions. However, in 2001 the suspense get to build, not with sound tracks or action, but with visuals. It is truly a perfect way to depict space.
+ HAL 9000. "I'm sorry Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." The monotone robot voice is the perfect creepy antagonist needed for any good sci-fi movie. And 2001 was the perfecter of it.
+ The Ending. I loved Interstellar even though there were many people out there that didn't. If you didn't like Interstellar's ending then you probably won't like this. It is just as weird and confusing which I personally love.
The Ehhh:
~ Evil AI. I only give this an ehhh, because today it is a very common theme. Every other movie depicts some kind of Artificial Intelligence that is out to destroy humanity.
~ The pacing. I'm going to preface this that much like the silence i mentioned before, I actually do like the pacing. However, I can see that many modern audiences might see this movie and be turned off by it's slow pacing. Just know that the silence and the pacing is done to building the story and represent the isolation of space travel. So put the phone down, sit back and just relax as you take in the stunning visuals.
The Ugh-ly:
- The characters. Ok... I'm cheating with this one a little. The small cast does a remarkable job acting their parts. However, all I saw was generic guy #1 and generic guy #2. I never remember their names, or even have any idea what there personalities were. The only defining mark was their hair style, but even that made it difficult for me to tell who was who.
Overview:
2001: A Space Odyssey, even with its forgetful characters and slow pacing, truly shows how a great director can sculpt a masterpiece of a film. If I ever see it come into a local theater, I will definitely have to make time to see it on the big screen.
Grade: See in Theaters (if possible)
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