2010. Directed, written and produced by Peter Hyams for MGM/UA. Starring Roy Scheider, John Lithgow and Helen Mirren. Rated PG.
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(as told to Kathy Amen)
Good morning, readers. I am a SAL computer. I appear only briefly in 2010, but my counterpart, HAL 9000, is one of its main stars, as he was in its illustrious predecessor, 2001: A Space Odyssey. As you may remember, he had some problems in that movie and ended up murdering several scientists. But I'm happy to report that he's feeling much better in 2010. Of course, you always wonder about those reconnected circuits.
Those of you who revere 2001 as a classic will be glad to hear that 2010 is a worthy successor. It isn't as intellectually demanding, nor as mythic in its structure. But viewers who found the earlier movie maddeningly obscure and slow-moving will be pleased to find 2010 wittier and exciting in a more usual way. It is quite a different kind of movie, in short, but one well worth seeing by both critics and devotees of the original.
The Discovery spacecraft from 2001, and my friend HAL, are in a decaying orbit around Jupiter's volcanic moon, Io, as 2010 begins. In order to get to the ship before it's lost, and find answers to the questions remaining from the earlier movie, a joint Russian-American team sets off in the Leonov. International tensions on earth are mirrored in some friction among the crew. But eventually scientific curiosity, then wonder, unite them as they investigate the gigantic monolith orbiting Jupiter.
Events on earth tend to dominate the fascinating (and decidedly more optimistic) happenings around Jupiter for most of 2010. This perspective is more realistic, perhaps, since humans are involved. But I must confess I found this over-emphasis to be a weakness in the movie.
In general, however, realism is one of the strongest elements of 2010. The special effects take advantage of the information gained by the Pioneer and Voyager flights. When the astronauts take a spacewalk over Io, we know that is how it would really look. The hardware inside the Leonov likewise has the "look of truth" to it.
HAL had much more personality than his human colleagues in 2001, as he was intended to. But 2010's characters are satisfyingly three-dimensional. Scheider as Dr. Floyd, who authorized the original Jupiter mission (Floyd was played by William Sylvester in 2001), and Lithgow, as an engineer/astronaut, make a particularly appealing pair. And I'm especially fond of Bob Balaban's affecting performance as Dr. Chandra, the computer genius who designed both HAL and myself.
Much as I would like to continue discussing this movie with you, I don't want to give away any information that would spoil its suspense for you. Should Arthur C. Clarke (the novelist who co-wrote the screenplay for 2001 and the novel 2010) write another sequel, as he plans, perhaps I can visit with you again in a few years.
NOTE: this movie made my 10-best list for 1984.
December 19, 1984