2010 [1984]

Nine years after the loss of the Jupiter-bound U.S.S. Discovery, a Russian-American mission probes the derelict spaceship in order to solve a few nagging doubts about the plot of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Why did HAL-9000, the ship's computer, become a homicidal paranoid? What happened to Dave Bowman (Dullea) the astronaut who went through the ultimate trip and became a giant foetus? And what alien purpose does the mysterious black monolith have? All those irritated by the unresolved mysteries of the first film will find most of their questions answered in 2010; but those who enjoyed Kubrick's movie because of its enigmatic sense of the wondrous, will find the prosaic solutions either disappointing or laughable. On its own terms, the film is fairly good, although marred by the dodgy kind of science featured in Outland, Hyam's last trip to the moons of Jupiter. The characters are all stereotyped, but the performers are mainly amiable, and one or two of the deep space problem-solving scenes are quite tense. Hyams also has the courage to be in favour of detente ten years after it was fashionable, with the world's scientific community sensibly getting together while their governments are preparing for World War Three. However, when the black monolith turns out to be an interstellar John Lennon and converts the human race to peace and love and flowers and all that stuff, even the most committed internationalist will have trouble keeping a straight face.

First Published In: City Limits no.178 [1-7 March 1985] p.23 [UK]

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