‘My God! It’s full of stars!‘
How do you make a sequel to what is probably the greatest film ever made? The only sensible answer is probably not to bother, but prolific director Peter Hyams, buoyed by blessings from both Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, tackled this impossible task in 1984, a full 16 years after the first film was released. The result is a mixed bag…
Picking up nine years after the events of the first film, 2010 sees the Americans and the Soviet Union coming together to send a party into space to try and find out what the hell happened to the Discovery Mission to Jupiter. The American crew is headed up by Roy Scheider, John Lithgow and Bob Balaban, while the Soviet crew is led by Helen Mirren (weirdly).
Based on Clarke’s sequel novel (although Hyams himself wrote the screenplay), 2010 shares some of the unforgettable visuals of the source material without ever threatening to match what that film achieved. The best way to enjoy 2010 is to take it as its own thing. Comparison is very much the thief of joy on this one. And there is much to enjoy here. The cast are excellent, particularly Balaban. David Shire’s synth-led score (one of the first ever) is groundbreaking. Even Mirren’s accent is acceptable. Perhaps most thrilling is the return of Douglas Rain as HAL 9000, the murderous sentient computer that sabotaged the Discovery Mission in the first place. That voice will always give me chills.
This is a prime example (possibly the most prominent example, actually) of a sequel being completely forgotten because the reach of the source material is just too great. If you can somehow take 2010 on face value, however, it’s a decent sci-fi fable with plenty to recommend it.
