2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY [IMAX] (2018)

Genre: Sci-Fi
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: William Sylvester, Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood
RunTime: 2 hrs 44 mins
Rating: PG
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 27 September 2018 - 3 October 2018

Synopsis: 2001: A Space Odyssey is Stanley Kubrick’s dazzling Academy Award© winning compelling science fiction drama of man vs. machine. A stunning meld of music & motion based on Clarke’s short story The Sentinel. At the dawn of Mankind, a tribe of ape-like beings are visited on Earth by a large black monolith. Thousands of years later, in the year 2001, scientist Dr Heywood Floyd (William Sylvester) discovers a similar black monolith on the moon, which then emits a signal aimed at the planet Jupiter. A year later, astronauts David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) are en route to Jupiter to investigate the signal's destination and purpose. However, their mission comes under threat when the ship computer, HAL (voiced by Douglas Rain), seemingly develops a malfunction.

Movie Review:

Without this classic that was released 50 years ago, academics wouldn’t be going gaga over philosophical science fiction films like Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (2014) and Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016). Filmmakers also had the courage to venture into independent productions dealing with similar genres. Examples include Johnathan Glazer’s Under the Skin (2013) and Alex Garland’s Ex Machina (2015).

Also thanks to this landmark epic, the film industry had a market for commercial and big budget franchises like Star Wars, Star Trek and Alien. While bringing viewers into a wondrous (sometimes terrifying) universe beyond our imagination, studios pumped in big bucks which allowed for more sophisticated special effects and digital imageries. How else would you explain the decision to continue producing sequels (hello, Star Trek Beyond), prequels (ahem, Alien: Covenant) and spin offs (that’s you, Solo: A Star Wars Story)?

In conjunction with the 50^th anniversary of Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece’s release, the restored film is back in the theatres for one week – in IMAX format, no less. And what an apt way to see the film the way it was meant to be viewed.    

The film starts off in the wild where apes discover a foreign object in their midst, and soon learn how to use hand tools. The setting? Millions of years ago. Fast forward to present day, we see a group of scientists finding the object on lunar soil. It then leads to a manned mission to Jupiter. Together with three astronauts put in hibernation (wrong move, dudes), the two human protagonists travel with a ship computer. As events begin unfolding, they find themselves in a precarious situation.

Sounds like a space adventure that will interest sci fi geeks? Yes, that and much more. If you are familiar with film history, or have taken film studies back in school, you would know how the groundbreaking film influenced pop culture and had a big impact on how movies are made today. You may have seen (or tried seeing) the film a few times, but this is a perfect chance to see it on a huge, huge screen. The opening scenes set in the grand wilderness make you feel like you’re watching a documentary. The sequences in space feel graceful yet foreboding. The IMAX screen allows you to pay attention to details and be fully immersed in the experience.

Watch out for a sequence where a space pod travels through a cosmo tunnel draped with strange landscapes of unusual colours. Following that bizarre scene comes finale is one that you will never forget

This release also gives those who haven’t seen (or heard about) the film an opportunity to find out what the fuss is about. And you will realise it is indeed a classic worth embracing. How was it possible that Kubrick could have co-written, produced and directed this in the 1960s? It is a piece of work that is ahead of its time and it makes you wonder whether anything you see in the theatres today will be remembered this way.

The film may be almost three hours long, but this version comes with an intermission for viewers to stretch their legs or visit the washroom. You wouldn’t feel tired despite the long runtime. Instead, the familiar classical tunes of Richard Strauss’s “Also Sprach Zarathustra” and Johann Strauss II’s “The Blue Danube” will be ringing in your head. That, and the existential question of our true purpose in this universe.   

So thank you, Mr Kubrick. 

Movie Rating:

(Not only is Stanley Kubrick's film ahead of its time, it is a classic that is truly deserving of an IMAX release)    

Review by John Li