Movie review of “2001: A Space Odyssey”
Majestic “Space Odyssey” (the genre precisely defined already in the name of the movie) directed by the then only 39-year-old Kubrick acquires over time even larger importance. None of the experienced fans of cinema has got doubt that this film – is not just an outstanding creation, but also a genuine milestone in the science fiction genre, and in the history of world cinema. Kubrick's achievement is unique because he managed in one theatrical film to capture considerable number of key problems of human civilization – ranging from the distant past up to the XXI century, which seemed to be so fantastic in 1968, 33 years before its occurrence.
Mankind has always sought to know the mystery of the universe, for many years, astronauts scoured the vast expanses of the universe in search of extraterrestrial life, as well as answers to many questions of vital importance: What is the origin of life? Is there a God? Is there a limit to the human intellect, and is an intellect a boundary that separates human being and animal? In other words, people have always been trying to expand the boundaries of knowledge and go beyond what is permitted. About all these problems Stanley Kubrick mulls over in his epic creation.
And the number of topics covered in it is enormous. Here are just some of them: transformation from ape to Man, the problem of contact with extraterrestrial intelligence, the future of the space age, rebellion of robotic machines and computers against the person who created them. The main topic described, in my book, – people's ability to comprehend yet unknown, never-ceasing desire to search for the foundations of all things on Earth.
Kubrick also brings at the surface the question of the relationship of man with his creation – an artificial intelligence. Do the technologies always benefit mankind? What if, at some point, a life of the person will depend on the machine, as in the case of Bowman? I will remind that the onboard computer, rebelled against the creator, served as a threat to the latter. So who will prevail?
The film leaves far a lot more questions than answers. And that's good. Such technique helps remain movies as high art. However the main question that arose after viewing: “Why a man goes to space for getting the answers to the questions of the earth life?”. This question remains open, and one may find his own answer. This movie touches on many philosophical, metaphysical, ontological, epistemological, social, moral and spiritual problems. Discussing which and arguing about which would be endless. And in this lies the uniqueness of the Kubrick`s masterpiece: minimum of words –maximum message to the audience.
In the end, I would like to say that “2001: A Space Odyssey” is an indestructible classic, and the film, which largely incepted a sci-fi genre of movies. As for me, “2001: A Space Odyssey” aims to show us how we are negligible on a scale of the universe, but again, we can get closer to puzzling out issues of the universe, if we wish. Of course, we may find defects in the movie affecting the overall experience, but this masterpiece of Stanley Kubrick will anyway be monumental and immortal.
Works Cited
2001: A Space Odyssey. Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Perf. Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, and Douglas Rain. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1968. Film.
