Recently, I rewatched 2001: A Space Odyssey, and it's impressive how the visual effects and production design in the science fiction classic still hold up after over 50 years. It's evident where many modern sci-fi films got their inspiration, including Star Wars and Star Trek.
Even still, science fiction movies didn't gain popularity until about a decade after 2001: A Space Odyssey's release in 1968. Nevertheless, the movie helped solidify Stanley Kubrick as one of the greatest visionary filmmakers of all time.
Kubrick wrote the film 2001: A Space Odyssey with famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, but the sequel novel, 2010: Odyssey Two, didn't come out for another 14 years.
Peter Hyams may not be well known, but he produced, wrote, and directed the movie sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. Based on Arthur C. Clark's novel 2010: Odyssey Two, the film 2010: The Year We Make Contact brilliantly continues the story of the homicidal HAL 9000 computer and astronaut David Bowman. It features legendary actors Roy Scheider and Helen Mirren, and a then-unknown John Lithgow.
But in an interesting twist, the story of 2010: The Year We Make Contact goes beyond a science fiction tale. There's a subplot about an escalating incident on Earth involving the U.S. and Soviet Union that complicates the relationship between the American and Russian scientists on the space mission. The movie came out in 1984 during the Cold War, so it's a relatable story for the times, but it's also very plausible even in times of peace.
It may not live up to Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, but Peter Hyams did a magnificent job with the follow up to 2001: A Space Odyssey. You can understand 2010: The Year We Make Contact without seeing the first film, but you'll greatly appreciate the saga when you watch both movies back-to-back.
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