I think I’m one of the few sci-fi, Arthur C. Clarke, and Kubrick buffs that doesn’t really get the love for 2001.

Clarke’s original story is fascinating…and his book adaptation of the movie is a good read.
Kubrick’s cinematography and portrayal of space travel is beautiful.
The suspense over HAL is horrifying.

But the pace is incredibly slow and the symbology either too indecipherable or too obvious (yeah…I know…but for some reason it does feel like both to me).

The AI theme is great, but I think the contrast with divine creation doesn’t mesh very well (at least on screen).

But then, I saw it for the first time more than a decade later as a teen, and I had read a lot of sci-fi that had been written after its release….so the premise seemed to be an overdone trope to me by then…