A group of scientists on a lonely mission to Jupiter are thrust into extreme danger when their on-board sentient computer, HAL, decides they are unnecessary. Eventually, only one is left to face the dispassionate, murderous, machine . . . and something far greater, out in the depths of space.
Subgenres: science-fiction, art
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An absolute treat for the senses. When I watch 2001, I let myself go--I take in the wonderful sets, great special effects, and intense, mind-boggling images--and don't think about any of it. After the film is over, I pontificate about the film's subtexts, the meaning of the latter scenes, what the film implies about our past, our future, our nature. I still haven't discovered the answers to any of those mysteries, and there lies the film's greatest strength. The very basic plot of 2001 is actually a fairly standard horror story: machine tries to kill humans. So I also wind up forgetting the plot; it's just a convenient way to lead us to a unique sensory experience and to get us to think, well, maybe a little more broadly about our place in the universe.(Oct 31, 1999/Jan 9, 2000) | ||||||
Based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel."
