2010 : The Year We Make Contact Reviews

Some questions are answered...

'2010' sets out to reveal the answers to many things we have been wondering after watching '2001 A Space Odyssey' and does a nice job although not in quite such a 'classic cinema' way as the first story.

It's nearly a decade since the strange goings on near Jupiter. The US and the Russians decide to forget their differences to go and find out what happened to Dave Bowman, Hal, and crew..plus, there are new developments of a larger scale to investigate...

Good performances all round here apart from maybe a couple of dodgy Russian accents from British actors!

If you enjoyed '2001' and were left wondering afterwards, this film is for you.

Way Better....

I watched 2001 and thought that was a load of .... so it was with slight persuasion i decided to watch this. This movie is about 100 times better than 2001. It has actors, an understandable story line, and it kept me interested. I didn't even have to fast forward any part of the movie, unlike 2001. I think someone should use this as a base and remake the first one, even if it is a classic. I'm glad i watched it.

A Good Watch!

Oh er, a sequel to 2001 (Kubrick's masterpiece)? A good idea? Well, I watched it and simply put I enjoyed it!! Now I'm a great fan of phasers and photon torpedoes and the like but a film of this sci-fi genre is always welcome. Excellent realistic feel to the film and some good use of detailed models (the Leonov is a nice ship... better than the Discovery???). Nice suspense, subtle action, good acting (Scheider, Lithgow, Mirren and co) but don't expect anything too dazzling. It follows well in the footsteps of 2001!! Enjoy!

An excellent sequel

Although this is a very different style of film to the the first, I thought it was very enjoyable and completed the story beautifully.

A valiant attempt at an impossible task.

With this sequel to 2001, Peter Hyams takes on the daunting task of continuing Kubricks beautiful yet mysterious rendition of Athur C Clarkes sci fi classic. This film doesnt attempt to out do 2001, which was a wise choice, rather it sticks to the book and concentrates on the internal relationships of the characters involved, stearing away from the grandeaur of the original, sweeping in a feeling or paranoia and tension between the inhabitants of the ship, as well as expanding on the message that of peace that Clarke wealds through the book

A film of its genre, rather than a genre defining piece like the original, 2010 is a steady and reliable continuation of the film and makes you wonder whether 2061 may be made in the future.

2010 - a disapointing sequel

If you liked 2001 and were left wondering what the..., then 2010 offers little more in the way of enlightenment. The general eeriness of the film is in a similar vein to 2001; however, HAL just doesn’t have the same sociopathic edge and therefore fails to amuse. Watch it and see what you think. I certainly learnt nothing more (conclusive) about the monolith than the astronauts that star in the film! Or in other words, your quest to quench that unquenchable thirst for answers that 2001 leaves you with will invariably remain unquenched by the end of the film. Or maybe I just don’t have the intellect to read between the lines???

Memorable?

I rented this because I thought I'd never seen it before, but it turns out that I had seen it before and had merely forgotten all about it. Therefore, not a film which will stay with you forever. It's okay, it's entertaining enough, but it won't kill you to give it a miss.

Great Sci-Fi Sequel!

If you liked the first installment, you will definately like this cleverly constructed sequel. For Sci-Fi fans everywhere!

Much better than it should be

Sequels to genuine classics, in the established order of things, aren't supposed to work. Like celebrities' uglier siblings they are supposed to stand along side and show how beautiful the original truly is (see the Psycho and Jaws sequels).

This is by Peter Hyams who's been steadily plugging away for about thirty-five years making very respectable, enjoyable Hitchcock rip-off thrillers like The Star Chamber and Narrow Margin, and he does as good a job to follow up 2001 as anyone could. It follows the next stage of the story, imbues a proper sense of the mystery and awe of space and the cosmic consequence of what's unfolding and - crucially - doesn't try to get within a country mile of the original film's unreadable (and rather sterile) pretentiousness. It's also beautifully shot by Hyams himself.

Well if you enjoyed 2001, you'll probably enjoy this. It ties up open ends, although that may not be a good thing if you got a buzz from the mystery of the original. The technology is VERY dated, but then what would you expect. ...and Helen Mirren keeps her clothes on - must be a first!