Member review

This film is a slow paced film, that has a simple linear story line focusing on mankind's place in the universe. For the time it was a ground breaking science fiction film, and today it still remains one of the most ground breaking science fiction film. I deeply respect this film in all way shape and form. And more importantly i respect the director Stanley Kubrick. He has given us such films as The Shining and Full metal jacket, and he is properly one of the most iconic film makers of all time. His eye for perfection really is clear in this movie. By using symmetrical film framing it gives the sense that it is to good to be true and that there is something unearthly about these spaceships. Basically the film follow the dawn of man, to the first human siting of the "monolith" in 1 million years, and then on to the main story, the story of Dave and Frank and there strangely human robot companion, the connection between each story is the Monolith, a striking black rectangle that controls mankind evolution, but the question going through the head, is who put it there. It was quite a challagne for Kubrick to set out and make a science fiction film about mankind's place in the greater scheme of the universe. Some might dismiss the film as boring and pretentious, but to really get the full extent of the film, you need to look deeper into the meaning of the film, and what it actually means. For example when the apes first visit the monolith they are scared but captivated by it. They get ever closer until one touches it, and the sun majestically rises onto the new day and new and clever humans, this scene is very bone chilling, thanks mostly to its chilling music, it makes you feel uneasy about the whole grand scheme of the universe. And how the sun dawning constitutes with the evolution of man. And later on in the film and in time (2001) the monolith is found on the moon slowly calling us out into the universe. The man who firsts touches it, touches it without any fear, but touches it as if it was an old friend. This scene might be the end of human life, as we find out later, or it could be are calling into the universe, or the next step of human life. After viewing the monolith on the moon a terrifying beeping noise somewhat insults your ears takes us to Dave and Frank and the robot HAL. What is bone chilling about these scenes is that Hal 9000 seems more human that Dave and Frank. Dave and Frank, we know are humans, seem to be more like the robot, and Hal seems more like an emotional human being. This switching of human and robot makes one feel uneasy. HAL begins reporting errors, but nothing is wrong with the machine. This lead me to believe that there was something fundamental going on and something that HAL says, maybe it's just something that we can not explain. And that generally sums up the film, it's a film that can't be explained in just this review, it's a film that may appear a very simple science fiction film, but it has different layers that a Star-Wars like movie doesn't have. It's a film that leave many with question, maybe even some may be bored, but it's a film that you should respect. As it ten time better than any recent science fiction film history. And the ending, well i couldn't about that, but it is an amazing and beautiful film. That answers lots of questions about mankind. And will leave you with lots of questions, that you will long to answer but you will never find out. Just like we will never find out the answer to our place in the universe...