Writer, cinematographer, producer & director Peter Hyams, a filmmaker who's given us some pretty good pictures over the decades, attempts here what must have seemed to viewers of the period to be near-impossible. How DOES one follow up such an iconic science-fiction film as "2001"? Well, Hyams may be no Stanley Kubrick, but he capably guides through this engrossing story, which he scripted from the novel by Arthur C. Clarke.
The Cold War was still in full swing at this time, and American and Soviet governments are on the brink of war while a joint Russian-American mission is launched into space. These astronauts will do their best to probe the mystery of what went wrong on the Discovery spacecraft several years ago. Leading the Americans is likeable Everyman Heywood Floyd (played in Kubricks' film by William Sylvester, and here by Roy Scheider).
The most obvious criticism to be made of "2010" is understandable, in that it tries to explain as much as possible, taking away from the mystery and enigma of "2001". As a result, it's not as provocative or stimulating, and leads to a rather familiar ending for science-fiction films.
Still, the film is well paced, and VERY well designed and photographed in widescreen. It may not be a truly great film for the genre, but it is definitely a good one, with a majestic score by David Shire (not a composer typically identified with the science-fiction genre) and a wonderful international cast. Roy is just the right anchor to hold everything together, and he receives strong support from John Lithgow, Helen Mirren (a delight in a real character role), Bob Balaban, Keir Dullea (reprising his role of astronaut Dave Bowman), Douglas Rain (once again supplying the relaxed voice of computer intelligence HAL-9000, who is reawakened), Madolyn Smith Osborne, Dana Elcar, James McEachin, Mary Jo Deschanel (wife of cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, and mother to actresses Zooey and Emily Deschanel), Elya Baskin, Jan Triska, Herta Ware, and Robert Lesser. Look hard for author Clarke on a Washington, D.C. park bench.
I would agree that this is *not* a weak film. It tells a good story, and certainly held this viewers' attention for the better part of two hours. It's reasonably intelligent fare that will appeal to sci-fi lovers looking for more adult entertainment.
Seven out of 10.
