2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY

FILM REVIEW

This film is very... interesting. I could see how this would be ground-breaking at the time. However, in this modern era of film it almost feels clunky and confusing at times. A delightful 149 minutes of visuals that hold up particularly well, but I couldn’t help but wonder, what is going on? I never found myself bored, just confused.

I didn’t really understand that the black monolith was supposed to symbolise extra-terrestrial life, maybe I’m just slow or maybe it actually wasn’t clear enough. When someone explained that to me at the end I thought that’s actually quite cool. That would have made a lot more sense. Maybe it’s worth a rewatch with this in mind, but I doubt I’ll be doing that any time soon.

I think it’s obviously very current. The themes of artificial intelligence and computers almost having too much control. If one day your car decides to try and kill you like HAL9000 there might not be much you can do in future years. With rapid technological advancement I think it’s important not to rely on the technology too much, and this film is a good reminder of that. As we see artificial intelligence improve at an almost frightening rate maybe it’s time to put on the brakes and pull the plug.