[4]

Peter Hyams (Capricorn One, The Relic) tackles Arthur C. Clarke’s sequel novel. It is, of course, a fool’s errand to follow so closely in the footsteps of Stanley Kubrick and his revolutionary and revered 2001: A Space Odyssey, but for whatever reason, that errand was run. And for a while, 2010‘s not so bad. 2001 leaves a lot of mystery in its wake, so the prospect of going back into space to figure some of that shit out is actually enticing. What are the monoliths? What happened to Dave? Is HAL the computer really a cold-blooded killer? After a long, not so terribly exciting slog, 2010 promises to reveal some of those answers… and it kinda does. At least in a more direct way than Kubrick did. The problem with this kind of movie, where God and all the wonders of the universe are concerned, is that the filmmakers can rarely exceed the viewer’s imagination. I was actually surprised that 2010 results in a concrete resolution — I thought for sure they’d steer clear of that. But there it is, in all its weird, clunky, anti-climactic, confusing glory. Anyway, it’s kinda cool to see yesterday’s vision of tomorrow at work here — a film made in the early 80s depicting events from 2010. And if you have to follow someone into space, let it be Roy Scheider. I’d follow him anywhere. Helen Mirren, John Lithgow, and Bob Balaban fill out supporting roles. Keir Dullea returns as Dave Bowman.

Oscar Nominations: Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design