MovieChat Forums > 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Discussion > I can't be the only one who thought this...

I can't be the only one who thought this movie was stupid.


Before anyone leaps down my throat about having no attention span, slow movies are some of my favorites. I like all genres and styles (including artsy) and I think that the part of this movie with Dave and HAL was very interesting and well done and they could have made a whole movie about it. But the more I think about it the more I feel that if this movie came out today, nobody would call it visionary or one of the greats, and they would be correct. I get the feeling that people are only pretending to understand it. I'm pretty good with finding allegory and metaphors and the meaning of imagery and things like that in film, but to me this seemed just too bizarre and dull. Is it just because it was Kubrick that everyone praises it, or is there something that I truly am just missing about this movie?

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ellanegri, I can't be the only one who thought your post was stupid.....

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Haha yes, judging by the other responses you are clearly not :)

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I think you're missing something, yes, though a lot of people don't get 2001. It's okay, it doesn't make you a bad person. :-)

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Horrible, horrible person yes, terrible no; that'd be a helluva understatement.



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I actually do have a cousin that doesn't like this but loves all of Kubrick's other films. So, to each their own. I myself didn't understand the plot. Though it's based on a book and I should finally get around to reading the book.

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While I personally liked the film I can understand why this film may not resonate with some people. It's long, some may even say meandering but I feel the great direction, sets & effects that were ahead of its time definitely make up for the somewhat meandering pace & the confusing/ambiguous ending that puts some people off.

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It's a technically impressive movie, interesting to look at, but ultimately silly, pretentious, and boring. It is overrated because few have the nerve to publicly criticize it (even I am not using my real name here). For a perfect analogy, read "The Emperor's New Clothes".

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Having first seen it when it came out in 1968, and having seen it many times since, I find nothing silly, pretentious, or boring about it. It's not your typical film, I'll grant you. It's a film whose narrative & complexity are told in purely visual terms. It's more of a symphonic tone poem than anything else, meant to be experienced more than analyzed. At least that's been my lifetime experience of it. Yours may differ & nothing wrong with that.

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Me think movie stoopid too. Me no see explosions and loud music.

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Stupid? No. Too abstract? Yes.

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Is about the expanding of mankind's mind and imaginative so it's ironic you have chosen to not exoskeleton yours. Maybe you need to touch a Monolith...

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