[z3n]

To each his own. I find 2001 A space Odyssey unwatchable.

~~~

Agree. This is how I remember the movie;

-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
-breathing-
-breathing-
-breathing-
Open the pod bay doors, Hal.
-breathing-
-breathing-

[higgmeister]

You were supposed to watch it and think, Far Out, man!

[Rockingham]

The movie 2001 was based on a novel by Arthur C. Clarke that was faithful to the physics and technology of space flight, but with a traditional humanities issue as it dramatic core. If lying is bad, then what happens when a super intelligent, self-conscious computer is required to lie?

In the case of HAL in 2001, the computer goes crazy, treating its human companions as dispensable for the sake of its secret mission directive. The Alien series of movies had a similar premise, with each one of them showing the effects of lies leading to death and catastrophe in space.

As for the boring bits in 2001, the stark and dangerous environment of interplanetary space is shown to be like flying in consisting of long boring periods interrupted by moments of tension and terror. For the astronaut outside of the spacecraft in 2001, his breathing is increasingly labored as he returns to his spacecraft, is denied normal entry by HAL, and then must risk his life by blowing a hatch and re-entering without a helmet on his space suit.

Space flight experts and physicists raved about 2001 when it came out for getting the physics and technology correct. That helped create a model. Watch an episode of the Smithsonian TV series Air Disasters for comparison. A routine, boring airline flight suddenly goes wrong, with investigators then piecing together how a combination of technical failure and human error led to a crash.

In sum, the movie 2001 is accurate in ways that transcended prior science fiction. The closest similar major movie is The Martian, which got the physics and technology right, but with a larger cast and other issues for the sake of dramatic tension.