Science fiction films and books have always been a favorite of mine. I don't know how I missed this classic science fiction movie or if I did see it but forgot about it. Not likely, you say! You are right, I think that I would have remembered it! What is so unique about this movie is that it was made in the '60s and has many futuristic science fiction details ahead of their time. I can't say I loved this movie but I can't say that I hated it either. I have no idea what you know or don't know about this movie, so if you don't want to be spoiled, maybe you should click on another review!

This film starts out with apes who learn man-like motions (using a bone for a club and walking upright) after touching a strange stone, the monolith. This eventually leads to a change of time...we jump ahead to many years in the future where people are traveling to outer space. We see meetings take place and a group being sent to Jupiter on a hush-hush mission. HAL is a big component of the mission, he is a computer that speaks to the occupants of the ship and has control over the entire ship. He is supposed to be 100% right all of the time, never making an error, ever. This proves to not be true on the Jupiter mission when HAL starts eliminating the crew. One of the crew members eventually is able to shut HAL down and then he finds out that his mission has something to do with the monolith. What is this monolith and what are it's powers? Will HAL be able to recover from the shutdown and kill the sole crew member still alive? What amazing things happen in the future? You will find out if you can stomach over two hours of this movie!

One of the worst things about the movie was the horrible, grating music. Much of the movie is told without talking, only music and images. Which would have been fine if the music hadn't been irritating as it was! Lots of time spent showing blackness or colored lights, on and on. I felt that I could have fast forwarded it and not missed a thing...there was nothing there but space in between the real action of the story! Cut all of that nothingness out and it would have been a great science fiction movie! The science fiction details were extraordinary for the time period in which it was made. HAL acting as a person with feelings although he was a machine made him come alive!

The ape sequence was really slow as well....I am sure representing many years in between regular ape and man-like ape but still. So slow to start the story of the movie. I felt so much of it was filler. The images were dynamic of futuristic ships and items but the boring images that kind of made a break in the film were nothing short of bathroom breaks for viewers! Don't worry you won't miss a thing! No actual info coming out of a black screen playing suspenseful music on and on and on. I was beginning to wish HAL would turn into an alien and eat everybody just to get me out of my misery! Is it so bad to root for the bad guy, HAL?

If not for the dynamic science fiction story hidden deep within this film, I would give it one star. Sorry to any die-hard Space Odyssey 2001 fans but the long pauses bored me. Cut all of the pauses out and the film would have been fine. I can't see many people wanting to sit through irritating music and long (minutes long) pauses of nothingness.

What is so good about THIS film?

Science fiction story, HAL is so personable, without HAL this film would have rated no stars

What is unique about this film?

HAL is a computer who thinks

Is it worth the price?

Only if you use your fast forward button liberally

There has to be some bad to this film, right?

Long pauses, long moments of irritating suspenseful music for no reason, scenes go on far too long

Any warnings people should be aware of?

Could be scary to children

Final verdict:

Cut all of the pauses out and the film would have been fine. I can't see many people wanting to sit through irritating music and long (minutes long) pauses of nothingness

pablo the bored
Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like. Author Unknown

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above