Stanley Kubrick's 1968 classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey, remains the best and most influential sci-fi movie of all time. Here's why.

Stanley Kubricks2001: A Space Odysseyis still the best and most important science fiction film of all time, and modern-day science fiction movies have yet to top whatthe director's 1968 release was able to do. Of course, there have been intelligent science fiction films released recently, includingEx Machina,Annihilation,Arrival,andBlade Runner 2049, and the genre has been popularized with multi-billion-dollar franchises likeStar WarsandStar Trek;even the MCU can be considered science fiction. But one would have to go all the way back to Fritz LangsMetropolis(1927), which is credited as the first science fiction film ever, to find a movie as daring, ground-breaking, and influential as2001: A Space Odyssey.

Written by Kubrick and famed science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, 2001: A Space Odysseys main plot begins with the discovery of a monolith on the moon, and upon investigation, a deafening radio signal is released. The story picks up later when Dave Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) are on a deep space mission to Jupiter, later revealed to be a further investigation ofthe monoliths lunar radio signal. The bulk of the films runtime includes Dave and Franks conflict with HAL 9000 (voiced by Douglas Rain), their ships malfunctioning artificial intelligence, which exhibits signs of self-awareness.

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A masterpiece of the science fiction genre, 2001: A Space Odyssey was groundbreaking in its exploration of complex themes, its prescience, and its visual language. Not only does it still hold up as a cerebral and visually stunning film, but it has since changed the genre, bifurcating science fiction films into two main categories, and even the best of recentyears has not approached what 2001: A Space Odyssey was able to accomplish.

When Kubrick approached Clarke about collaborating on 2001: A Space Odyssey, he said that he wanted to make a film about mans relationship to the universe. Its about as high-minded a concept as one can get, and its demonstrated in two main sections of the film. The prologue depicts what the film calls The Dawn of Man, which dramatizes a tribe of apes interacting with a monolith millions of years before the films main action. The visuals imply that the monolith bestows the apes with human-like intelligence the ability to reason and use tools which leads to humankinds eventual journey to space. Such an elemental question where do we come from? is answered in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The second deeply philosophical question explored in the film is what makes humans human? Through HAL 9000s self-awareness, the film wonders where the line of personhood is drawn. HAL demonstrates feelings of self-righteousness when his functionality is questioned, personal agency when conspiring against the crew members, and pain and fear when Dave is shutting him down or is that all just part of his programming? The singularity, or artificial intelligences self-awareness, has been a frequent subject of science fiction films, includingEx Machina, AI: Artificial Intelligence, and even The Terminator series, but it was first explored in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

It is impossible to understate how forward-thinking this is. The first rudimentary AI was developed in 1955, so in 1968 the concept of AI was so new and cutting edge. Though films and television had depicted humanoid robots, including theone in Metropolis, consciousness in a disembodied computer was untrod territory in film. And considering that most Americans are walking around with a type of AI in their pockets - though not self-aware, of course - that 2001: A Space Odyssey predicted the ubiquity of artificial intelligence adds to the films prescient brilliance.

2001: A Space Odyssey was also a visually stunning film, easily winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It captures space realistically with slow, patient movements and the total absence of sound. In the climactic moments of the film, Dave goes through what is probably a wormhole (the film never directly states), which was once again a recent scientific theory, and the kaleidoscopic lights that fill the frame invented the visual language for wormholes that has been repeated in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Contact, and Interstellar, just to name a few.

2001: A Space Odyssey might feel dated now it has a sixties' version of futuristic production design and slowly paced sequences that arent as frenetic as most post-Star Wars space adventures but when it was released, it was truly a never-before-seen event that has influenced much of what came after it.

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Since 1968 and 2001: A Space Odysseys release, there has been an explosion of science fiction on film. Broadly speaking, the genre has bifurcated into two general categories: realistic science fiction and fantasy science fiction. One shouldnt assume that there is more prestige in realistic science fiction than in fantasy. After all, at its best, the fantasy science fiction franchise Star Trek, which takes great liberties with the laws of physics, aims for resonant philosophical themes just as high-minded as 2001: A Space Odyssey's, and realistic science fiction like Ad Astra was a slog that failed to connect its ambitious premise with a cohesive plot.

In most cases, realistic science fiction utilizes 2001: A Space Odysseys visual and auditory language: outer space has no sound, and ships move deliberately. Many try to replicate 2001: A Space Odysseys philosophical themes:Ex Machina is about a sentient AI that turns dangerous and manipulative;Contact is about the search for meaning in a vast universe;Arrival takes seriously the interactions between humans and extraterrestrial visitors and plays with the very nature of time, just as the conclusion of 2001: A Space Odyssey does.

But its the subgenre of fantasy science fiction that has seen the largest growth, dominating the film marketplace in some years. The Star Wars franchise, the MCU, and Avatar are each in the top ten box office grossers of the past ten years, and the visual language and plotlines of these films are pastiches of other genres. In many ways, theyre space westerns, just as the original series of Star Trek was first pitched, and the battles between spaceships are airplane dog fights with laser beams instead of ammunition. Deep philosophical themes arent absent from fantasy science fiction: Avatar and Thor: Ragnarok are about the ethics of colonization;Event Horizon is a deeply existential film about humans place in an uncaring universe.

The sum effect of this glut of science fiction is twofold. First, the incredible popularity of fantasy science fiction has educated the masses about theoretical science. Theories in quantum physics like the multiverse and relativity and advancements in technology like artificial intelligence and deep space travel are almost ubiquitous in popular imagination. Second, speculative fiction allows audiences and creators to engage in the kinds of what if scenarios that other forms of drama dont tackle as well. Asking questions about the nature of personhood isnt confined to science fiction, but such questions can be more starkly dramatized when placed in otherworldly settings. As society catapults into a new, technologically dominated age, science fiction exists as both a warning and a goal. Will technology render humanity as helpless as the characters in Wall-E or usher in the utopia of Star Trek?

2001: A Space Odyssey remains the best science fiction film of all time. It is an engrossing, thought-provoking journey with surprises at every turn. Everything from the clever twist of HAL lip-reading Dave and Franks scheme to battle of wits between man and machine to the psychedelic visuals of the wormhole sequence makes watching 2001: A Space Odyssey a hypnotic feast. If it were released today, it would still attract a discerning audience.

But in the context of 1968, its truly extraordinary. Its difficult to name a recent film that has dramatized the effects of a technology only conceived of within the last two decades. Science fiction has always looked to breakthroughs in science for fodder for drama, but most recent films have been playing with questions debated in scientific communities during the early 20th century like AI and quantum relativity subjects that 2001: A Space Odyssey explored over fifty years ago.

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2001: A Space Odyssey managed to be both cutting-edgeand iconic, a trend-setter and timeless. With its profound philosophical reach, its stunning visuals, and its prescience, Stanley Kubricks revolutionary science fiction opus not only inspired the crop of science fiction movies that followed it, 2001: A Space Odyssey remains the genres best.

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Jim is a Weekend Editor at Screen Rant, the film critic for WEHT/WTVW, and co-host of two podcasts on YouTube, Jim and Garret at the Movies and Deadly Analysis, which focuses on philosophy and horror films. He was educated at Miami (OH) University and Virginia Tech where he earned a Masters degree in English, and he has worked as an actor, writer, cook, accountant, paramedic, and English instructor. His tweet reviews can be found at jthunter13.

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Sci-Fi Movies Still Havent Topped 2001: A Space Odyssey - Screen Rant