Decoding '2010: The Year We Make Contact' vs '2001: A Space Odyssey'

TLDR; The sequel '2010: The Year We Make Contact' explores the unresolved mysteries of '2001: A Space Odyssey' with a different narrative structure and attempts to predict the future, but falls short in comparison. The film features good performances but is hindered by a distracting political subplot, making it a decent companion to the original.

🎬 Introduction to the Sequel

The sequel '2010: The Year We Make Contact' follows the highly revered '2001: A Space Odyssey'.

The original film's narrative structure, iconic moments, and the director's visionary aspects contribute to its enduring legacy.

The sequel, however, is often regarded as a good movie but stands in the shadow of its predecessor.

It explores the attempt to find out what happened in the first movie with a joint American-Russian mission.

📽️ Comparing narrative structures

The narrative structure of '2001: A Space Odyssey', split into four different segments revolving around a monolith, contributed to its iconic and memorable status.

Additionally, the film was noted for its visionary aspects, including predictions such as video calls and AI, made in 1968.

This visionary essence is absent in '2010', as it lacks the trippy, colorful, and wild ending while also failing to predict the future realistically.

🔮 Analyzing the visionary aspects

The sequel attempts to predict the future by portraying people with pet dolphins, reflecting the obscurity and ridiculousness often associated with future depictions in older films.

However, it falls short in presenting a visionary future and is structured like a normal movie with a beginning, middle, and end.

Despite striving to answer questions from the first film, it remains elusive, allowing for further viewings and interpretations.

👩‍🚀 Character development and plot intricacies

The film incorporates a distracting side story set on Earth, involving political tensions and the brink of war, reminiscent of a cold war film.

This subplot, although attempting to be relevant to the time it was made, adds little to the space mission plot and appears to be a mere distraction.

While the performances are commendable, the film falls short of the original and garners at least a one-time watch.

🎥 Final thoughts and conclusion

In conclusion, '2010: The Year We Make Contact' serves as a decent companion piece to the original, but on its own, it is considered just okay.

It may be worth a watch for fans of the first film, but it does not surpass its predecessor.

The film's distracting political subplot and lack of visionary elements hinder its overall impact.