2001 still holds up because it's still the most realistic space travel movie ever made. Very few movies come close, 2010 comes close by default, Ad Astra had moments, but it's a very short list.
Parts of 2001 are more art than a movie telling a story. 2010 is a far better scifi movie overall and a favorite of mine. But there are critics of that one too that say it's terrible. I always think back to when I was a kid and reading a newspaper review of the new movie out I hadn't seen yet. "Star Wars is a failure and departure from the science fiction standard."
Damn what didn't you like about it?? It's one of my favorite movies, I've had friends who didn't care for it but never seen someone say they hate it haha
It's been a while since I watched it, so I don't remember specifics, but I felt like the end of the movie ruined the rest of it. She destroyed poor Jeremy Renner's life!
I believe that movies based on books are generally not as good, or lacking in some substance, so I always try to read the novel version first before watching the film. This was the case for 2001: A Space Odyssey.
What I didn't realize is that the movie and novel were created simultaneously. The novel is, in fact, a companion piece for the film, providing more context. So over the decades, I've watched as people struggled to understand the hidden meaning of this classic film. There are hundreds of articles written, or YouTube reviews posted, theorizing what the monolith is about, or what the big deal is with the giant space baby, etc. But if you read the book, it explains exactly what it is, right there!
If I had watched the movie on its own, I would've been totally lost. But reading the book first helped me understand the more "artsy" scenes, and the film actually makes sense from start to finish. It not only explains exactly what's happening in each scene, in simple non-metaphorical language, but you also see the inner dialogue of the main characters. Where there are quiet scenes throughout the movie (the film itself is about 90% quiet scenes), there's actual inner-monologues or exposition going on in the book.
So I'd highly recommend reading the book before you rewatch 2001: A Space Odyssey. You might get more enjoyment out of it.
The books are better for content, as is usually the case. There's so much more you can do with words that can't be translated well into visuals. I didn't care much for 3001, but 2001,2010, and 2061 were good. Even though 2061 both messed up the warning from 2010 as well as the epilogue.
You’re in for a treat! Arthur C. Clarke wrote the book and is probably my favorite sci-fi author. If you like it be sure to check out his other books too.
Oh, I just had a flashback to when 2001 was broadcast on television when I was a kid!
I said the next day that I liked it, and damn I was cross examined in the school yard for it. Every detail that made anybody confused was enough to crucify twelve year old me for liking an awesome space thriller with trippy effects and ambiguous ending. I mean, I didn't get all of it, but I got enough of the vibe. The ending was confusing, but I mean it arguably still is and intentionally so. Especially for the protagonist that goes through a portal and wakes up dead and... yeah, well, you decide for yourself and I'll stick to mine.
Anyway, the judge was the popular kid that also claimed that in western movies, people that wanted to die were shot for real, so there.
I've had that with tons of 'must see classics'. I'll sit there and be like 'I've already seen this a thousand times'. And while I of course appreciate the fact that the reason I've seen it so often is because that movie did it first back then, doesn't mean that it's impactful or interesting to me now.
Me and the room. I can't enjoy bad movies, that movie just pissed me off with how bad it was.
Also the time I saw Rocky horror picture Show I was like "why are people enjoying this? It's awful" I know people started liking that movie cause it was so bad it's good, but it seems along the way people lost the joke and actually legit enjoy that movie now and claim it's good.
The fact the Room takes itself so seriously is why it's so enjoyable. The distance between what it's trying to accomplish and the result is so profound that it's an absolute spectacle in and of itself. The sheer confidence behind every single choice makes it so much more funny.
"So bad it's good" movies are another category on its own and I don't blame you for it. I personally went to a showing of a Neil Breen film but I wouldn't blame anyone for not being interested in it lol
I like The Rocky Horror Picture Show while it has a plot... but about halfway in, it forgets about the plot and devolves into random musical numbers, one after the other. If it kept up its story, I'd enjoy it, but I can only watch the first half before I lose interest.
Honestly nothing makes me more curious about a movie than when the the critics score and audience score on a movie are vastly different. Sometimes I’ll agree with the critics, sometimes I’ll agree with the audience, but either way I’ll probably find the movie to be have been worth the watch and interesting if nothing else
That was my experience with Spider-Man Across the Spiderverse. It started really strong, but it drags on for 2.5 hours just to end on a cliff hanger? Fucking what? They couldn't have cut spider-cat and baby spiderman and fit the ending in there? There was so much fluff that contributed nothing to the movie that it being half a movie completely ruined it for me. 5/10.