2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984) is a sequel that missed the grade when it came out, but definitely worth a watch

For the longest time I've heard of 2010 as a "bad movie" or a "disappointing cash-in" or just as the butt of a joke. Last January, during a month of watching through some Kubrick films, I did a rewatch of 2001. It is, of course, an audio-visual classic.

A few days later, on trying to plot out January 2022, I settled upon getting some of the backlog out of the way and realized I had a few Roy Scheider movies to watch through. One that I'd not yet seen is, of course, 2010.

Last night we fired up the TV, started the movie, and... Well, it's definitely a Product of Its Time. There's a recap at the beginning (which...was really weirdly common in that time period, and feels like a teaser trailer instead of part of the movie) then it just jumps straight into the Cold War with some subterfuge, a "not-the-Bay-of-Pigs" situation in the background, and a bit of politics.

But even though that part is irrevocably tied to the 80s, the aesthetic holds up as believably a few years after the world of 2001. Most everything feels, and seems like it'd fit. The idea of astronauts being above the petty politics of the world continues to be a theme.

And things even get more interesting in space. Because the set dressings, and shots look straight out of Aliens. Resembling more a sci-fi classic that came two years after (thanks to a shared concept artist) than the one it's a sequel for is a strange bit of retrospective deja vu, and definitely makes 2010 feel appropriately "futuristic" for the time period it's trying to cover.

Most of the cast puts in a pretty solid performance, including Helen Mirren disappearing into her role. Indie stalwart Bob Balaban turns in a solid supporting job, acting as a computer programmer slash psychologist that has to figure out how to solve the problem of HAL.

And by the end, almost all of the loose strings of 2001 are tied up neatly. Themes are continued, worlds are expanded, and most importantly: the story comes to a satisfying conclusion.

It's a hard job standing up to 2001. And honestly, it doesn't really do that. The aesthetics are never really good enough, the imaginative turns aren't as wild, the presentation isn't as bombastic. But in a world where 2001 is a 5/5 experience, 2010 is a solid 4/5 capper to the ending left open.

Submitted January 02, 2022 at 10:52PM by matlockga https://ift.tt/3pKeWp0