When a Russian mission to rendezvous with the marooned Discovery spacecraft in orbit around Jupiter is announced, American Dr Heywood Floyd negotiates a place for himself on the trip. Can he find the answers to what went wrong nine years earlier ... ?
This is a great movie, sadly overlooked in my view, by science-fiction fans, Stanley Kubrick admirers and cult movie enthusiasts alike. For director Hyams to even conceive of making a direct sequel to Kubrick's enigmatic untouchable classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is brave beyond words. To then write, photograph, produce and direct a film which is both an entertaining story and embraces the galactic mystery of its famous predecessor, whilst maintaining narrative consistency, is simply outstanding. This is pure science-fiction of the best literary kind; the ideas are utterly fantastic yet conveyed as realistically as possible. The basic concept of Jupiter as a sun that failed is an incredibly interesting premise, and the depiction of space travel (notably the scene where Lithgow and Baskin spacewalk from one ship to the other) is as ruthlessly authentic as the original. Best of all, unlike a lot of sf, it has great characters with great moral dilemmas. Scheider is fabulous, in one of the very best roles of his illustrious career, as a man seeking redemption - he anchors the whole movie in solid drama, explains everything to us and makes the whole story flow smoothly. There are three great quirky supporting parts from Mirren (as the Russian captain), Lithgow (as an Ordinary Joe) and Balaban (as a scientist who prefers the company of computers to people), and the Russian actors in the smaller parts are great. Add to this the iconic casting of Dullea and Rain and the film's pedigree is complete. Visually, it is simply dazzling, as the Leonov glides into orbit around Jupiter; genius visual effects designer Richard Edlund recreates the red gas giant so convincingly here that you will believe you are in outer space. The film is full of astronomical wonder, mystery, spooky moments, incredible design (Floyd's house is about the coolest place I've ever seen), exciting set-pieces and great performances. Writer Arthur C. Clarke (who appears as the guy feeding the birds outside the White House) wrote a great novel, which takes the key elements of the original movie - the monolith's purpose, the reasons for Hal's neuroses, what happened to Dave Bowman - and weaves a spellbinding yarn around them. Some may say the explanations detract from the enigma of the original, but they don't; this is a different picture, but one that builds upon its predecessor with its own style and a greater emphasis on character. Other critics may put down the anti-military sentiment, forgetting that this was bucking the trend at the height of eighties right-wing Reaganomics. I personally think the dual star ending is one of the most beautiful and touching in any film. I find Hyams almost criminally underrated - he's made some tremendous pictures (Capricorn One, The Star Chamber, End Of Days), but this one is his masterpiece I think. Trivia - for true cinephiles, take a close look at the brief shot of the Time magazine cover the nurse is reading.
This is a great movie, sadly overlooked in my view, by science-fiction fans, Stanley Kubrick admirers and cult movie enthusiasts alike. For director Hyams to even conceive of making a direct sequel to Kubrick's enigmatic untouchable classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, is brave beyond words. To then write, photograph, produce and direct a film which is both an entertaining story and embraces the galactic mystery of its famous predecessor, whilst maintaining narrative consistency, is simply outstanding. This is pure science-fiction of the best literary kind; the ideas are utterly fantastic yet conveyed as realistically as possible. The basic concept of Jupiter as a sun that failed is an incredibly interesting premise, and the depiction of space travel (notably the scene where Lithgow and Baskin spacewalk from one ship to the other) is as ruthlessly authentic as the original. Best of all, unlike a lot of sf, it has great characters with great moral dilemmas. Scheider is fabulous, in one of the very best roles of his illustrious career, as a man seeking redemption - he anchors the whole movie in solid drama, explains everything to us and makes the whole story flow smoothly. There are three great quirky supporting parts from Mirren (as the Russian captain), Lithgow (as an Ordinary Joe) and Balaban (as a scientist who prefers the company of computers to people), and the Russian actors in the smaller parts are great. Add to this the iconic casting of Dullea and Rain and the film's pedigree is complete. Visually, it is simply dazzling, as the Leonov glides into orbit around Jupiter; genius visual effects designer Richard Edlund recreates the red gas giant so convincingly here that you will believe you are in outer space. The film is full of astronomical wonder, mystery, spooky moments, incredible design (Floyd's house is about the coolest place I've ever seen), exciting set-pieces and great performances. Writer Arthur C. Clarke (who appears as the guy feeding the birds outside the White House) wrote a great novel, which takes the key elements of the original movie - the monolith's purpose, the reasons for Hal's neuroses, what happened to Dave Bowman - and weaves a spellbinding yarn around them. Some may say the explanations detract from the enigma of the original, but they don't; this is a different picture, but one that builds upon its predecessor with its own style and a greater emphasis on character. Other critics may put down the anti-military sentiment, forgetting that this was bucking the trend at the height of eighties right-wing Reaganomics. I personally think the dual star ending is one of the most beautiful and touching in any film. I find Hyams almost criminally underrated - he's made some tremendous pictures (Capricorn One, The Star Chamber, End Of Days), but this one is his masterpiece I think. Trivia - for true cinephiles, take a close look at the brief shot of the Time magazine cover the nurse is reading.