Random Movie Review - 2001: A Space Odyssey

So our next film comes from the late visionary film maker Stanley Kubrick who proved to the world that in order to get the best out of films, they need more than one year to be made and do several takes until it reaches the perfection that it needed. So having previously reviewed his take on The Shining and have a film of his ready to review next month as part of Halloween month, it was debatable on which film of his to review this month. So I decided to go for one of his most well known films, 2001: A Space Odyssey which in case you're wondering came out 10 years before Star Wars so in a way, it set the bar for films that take place in outer space which as we know, Star Wars surpassed. So let's get into it:

Now I will say that the plot can be quite complicated to follow for some people so I will try and explain in a way that everyone can understand. Millions of years ago in an African dessert, we met a group of tribe men who come across this featureless black monolith (or in other words, a big black 3D rectangle that comes from outer space) which helps them take down their rival tribe to reclaim their waterhole. Many years later, a group of scientists go into space to investigate this artifact and spend many months in space studying it. 18 months go by and they soon realise that their A.I. like computer being called HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), is starting to question their motives and begins to malfunction, leaving the crew to fend for themselves, but will they survive and what is inside the black rectangle?

And that's as far as I can go without spoiling this gem of a film. I know there is a sequel to this very film, but I doubt that I'll be able to get a chance to see it any time soon. Anyway, I like the film for its visuals, its villain and the whole question about reality and what's in outer space. The only criticism that I have is that it can be seen as a bit of a borefest as most of the film is dedicated to no dialogue, but plenty of sound and some quite dull visuals in parts of it. But despite that, I thought it was good. I wouldn't call it a film that I would see again and again, but its worth at least one watch and its just one of these films which can prove to critics that with the right attitude and interest, a film like this can be enjoyable (for a handful anyway). And last thing to say, it should be known that films that take place in space, should not have sound in space itself, something of which this film does right and a film like Superman IV: Quest for Peace does not. 8/10