2010: The Year We Make Contact
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- Release Date: December 7, 1984
- Directed by: Peter Hyams
- Written by: Peter Hyams
- Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
- Series: Space Odyssey
Most people know about 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it seems like not as many people know about its follow-ups. While the novel of 2001 was followed by three sequels - 2010: Odyssey Two, 2061: Odyssey Three, and 3001: The Final Odyssey, only one of these was ever adapted for the big screen. Some may write this off as a forgotten sequel, but I highly recommend that you give this a watch if you're a fan of the first film.
Released sixteen years after the first film, 2010 follows a group of astronauts who are sent to find the spaceship from the first film before its orbital decay forces it to crash into one of Jupiter's moons. While there, they uncover the reality of what happened on that first voyage, as well as what the extraterrestrials have planned for mankind's ventures into the stars. I don't want to give too much of the plot away, because I truly feel that 2010 is a fantastic sequel. Not only does it clarify some of the more ambiguous events of the first film, but it expands on them in a way that feels completely natural. We get a couple of revelations that make you think of the second act of 2001 from a completely different angle, and actually make you feel sorry for the first film's villainous HAL-9000 computer. The way that 2010 expands on the first film's ideas of transformation and evolution fits so smoothly with the first film: now that we see what comes next for the individual man, what about mankind as a whole? How do we fit into a universe where we are no longer the dominant life form? It's a big question to ask, and I think the final message of the movie is a pretty powerful one.
On the technical side, 2010 may not be quite as impressive as the first film, but it's still very well-made. All of the spaceship models, suits and sets are on par with the first one, while some of the matte effects for planets and astronauts do stick out a little bit. It doesn't have the same level of scope that the first one had, and you never quite get the same feelings of isolation that 2001's space scenes managed to evoke. That being said though, the storyline and themes completely make up for those downsides.
For a long time, I wondered why no one ever attempted to adapt the final two books in the series. After I reread them a few years ago, I'm now glad that they stopped with 2010. While not as groundbreaking as the first one, this movie packs enough of a punch and delivers a hopeful finale that will leave you pleased. It got me thinking, and I'm sure it'll do the same for you.