2001: A Space Odyssey

Amy Mihalich

Evaluation Essay

2001: A Space Odyssey

Never has a movie ever had such mixed reviews. “2001: A Space Odyssey” was directed by Stanly Kubick in 1968. This science fiction film was based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke. While some believe that the film was a milestone in the film industry, others believed it to be the most boring film of all time. “2001: A Space Odyssey” did make a huge impact, but I was just not that interested in the story it told and could barely understand it.

I have to say that I lost my interest right at the beginning of the film, when all that is filmed are monkeys. I understood that Kubick was showing the “Dawn of Man Kind”, but could not understand why he needed to do it for twenty minutes. He showed the progress of how apes became more and more advanced, until a huge black object is placed before them. Kubick then skips millions of years and shows a space shuttle in space, leaving us still wondering what just happened. While he does a great job of creating mystery in the film, he also creates much confusion.

The film does have an introduction of the monkeys, but lacks an introduction into the space section of the movie. It dives right into a space trip that we know nothing about and barely introduces the characters. He also has many irrelevant characters such as the people that Dr. Heywood Floyd, the main character at the time, are sitting and chatting with. He then is suddenly in a press conference in which we know nothing of the reason or the people there. This section of the movie left me confused on who the characters were and what the main story line was. The characters are all males, with females in the roles of stewardess or secretaries. None of the characters seem to show much emotion, even when the “HAL 9000” computer refuses to let Dave, one of the men on the mission, back inside the space shuttle.

I believe the main reason for my lack of interest was the lack of dialogue. The only sounds in the first half hour are that of apes. From then on, conversations came in short spurts while the other time was either taken up by silence, computer sounds or symphonic music. There were sections of the film that even had ear-piercing sounds for far too long. However, I do think that Kubick did a great job of choosing to play symphony music because this created feelings of suspense.

Although the film did not intrigue me, one thing I was very impressed about was the technology. It is obvious how much time and effort the set designers put in to make the set look as real as possible. It is also impressive to think that this was done thirty-one years ago, when props were usually made out of cheap objects. In the beginning of the space section part of the film, Dr. Heywood talks into a “voice analysis” device, something in which is still being worked on today. I am sure this amazed the 1968 audience. I thought that the most interesting piece of technology was that of the “HAL 9000” computer. This computer seemed to show more emotion than the humans themselves. Hal not only controls the whole operation, but also communicates with the men on the mission and asks them their opinions. I would say that Hal was more of a character than just a piece of technology.

Nothing confused me more than the ending though. The bright and colorful lights show that David is traveling quickly through space in his space pod. He then ends up in a room with old furniture, leading the audience to believe that he had traveled through time. David explores the room to find an older version of himself, followed by another older version of himself lying in a bed. The black “monolith” appears and then shown is a baby in a womb. The movie finished, and I had not understood what anything meant.

Reviews have said that “2001: A Space Odyssey” is the greatest science fiction movie of all time. I believe that these reviews probably came from filmmakers or people in the film industry. For people like me who are indifferent about science fiction, this movie lacked a plot and anything interesting at all.