Plan 2001 From Outer Space

Frankly this is the only version of 2001 ill every watch from here on out. It takes a very overrated movie and actually makes it watchable. I mean a least the music good.

I wasn't going to rate A/V quality as this is an SD edit that was made ~10 years ago, so it's tricky to say what the yardstick should be. The file could probably be smaller than ~3.5Gb for SD, but I didn't notice any issues in the context of a 480p file.

I think, more than anything, I have somewhat mixed feelings about this edit because as rogue-thex said, it feels at times like two edits with different goals pulling in opposite directions - sometimes it's straining to be a more straightforward plotty sci-fi film, others it's very happily exploring its own bellybutton with some cool music.

I found the first 30 minutes or so felt quite slow - e.g. the opening stylistic gag with Eye of the Tiger alternating between back-and-front shots was funny, but as the song continued it shifted from a funny joke to a song I don't much like outstaying its welcome. In fact, for me up until Neil Young makes an appearance on the score around 25 minutes in, the new score clashed with the reworked scenes to somehow make me more aware of the slow pace inherent in the material - however, from that point on the music and visuals lined up and worked really well together, and the song choices were great.

The choices made on the narrative front to distil the story to its essence were interesting and effective; although they can't entirely escape the absolutely leaden pace of the original, they certainly help! I particularly like the changes made around Bowman's conversation with HAL after their chess game and the changes ahead of the arrival at Jupiter. It's a bold simplification of the plot, executed cleverly.

I've long felt that the Jupiter sequence at the end of the film spends far too much time on the psychedelic visuals (with the landscape parts in particular an underwhelming element), so I was a tad disappointed that they were largely intact here (though the pairing with the new score does work well).

I'm glad I watched this edit - it's an interesting alternate take on the central plot of 2001 and has some fun examples of changing the tone of scenes via re-scoring. I *like* 2001 in its original, plodding, trying-its-audience's-patience form, but I'm glad to also alternative interpretations of it like this.

I must confess, my initial notion of Plan 2001 was Dracula, face cloaked by cape, stalking the white concourse of Discovery. How is Adabisi going to carry this off? How will the Count elude HAL? OK, my assumptions were off.

Instead, this edit aims to pull the pants down on Kubrick’s film, expose the pomposity and pretentiousness. No more monkeys, little of the elitist classical music, and none of that puzzling symbolism. Rather, he offers richly delivered vent after vent of flatulence. This is a 2001 that any beat up Wal-Mart location would be proud to stock.

Video - 704p, MPEG-4. First thing you notice is the abrupt clips of the Discovery, front and black, rapidly switching back and forth. Hoo dog! Just like the 70s. Only thing missing is the zoom in - zoom out gimmick. Overall editing is crisp and hard. Vivisection with a hatchet. This is effective with dramatic plot jumps that explode out of nowhere. The descent into Jupiter is trimmed, so that the star gate stuff seems minimized, which only heightens the lava lamp plumes. Good bender there.

Audio - 2 channel stereo, 256 Kbps MPEG audio. The film opens with astronaut Frank Poole running and shadow boxing to “Eye Of The Tiger,” one of the cheesiest inspirational tunes ever, typical of the 80s. And typical of what sort of other surprise ditties Adabisi has up his sleeve. Songs range from imbecilic to infantile to predictably clichéd. When that ole Moon hopper started jumping to “I Put A Spell On You" I knowed them folks on this Moon were a lot happier than on Stanley K’s Moon. Screaming Jay Hawkins, couple of robot tunes, shoot, the only thing missing is Bill Shatner crooning. Don’t discount Cap’n Kirk, neither. His mental tilapia capabilities makes him simpatico with the intergalactic set. That’s how Shatner scored the role! Anyhoo, I digress ... Using Floyd‘s “Echoes” for the Jupiter sequences is genius! Cannot imagine how many geek boys have attempted just that with VHS and vinyl. Wet dreams come true, and I bet there were busy joysticks during that bit.

Narrative - I saw this numerous times on the big screen. I even had the Arthur C Clarke paperback - since long lost. I never could make heads or tails outta parts of half the film. Like the hotel lounge at the end. And star baby, say wha? To echo one of the US Prestidents, I always get me a thinkache.

Even worse, Kubrick hired possibly the worst actors available, all of ‘em rambling in bored monotones. What are they, hypnotists? Kubrick could have used mannequins, marionettes or Ken dolls if all he needed was lifeless thespians. Call me delusional, but I think Adabisi trimmed their lines way down, with excellent results!

The original narrative is a glacially paced snoozer. Yawn - then - zzzzzzzzzz. Tightening was needed and Adabisi provided the chainsaw. Great example of this was when Dave is about to reenter Discovery and give crafty HAL a much needed lobotomy, only ka-boom, they are entering Jupiter already. One second, Dave is helmetless, next second, it’s on. How? Magic.

Enjoyment - Most edits seem to either salvage a broken film, perhaps a guilty pleasure, or create a new beast, an alternative narrative using existing footage. Less common are the editors, however, who opt to ridicule and mock. Guess that says something but I dunno what.

As Adabisi noted in the forum thread, his intention was to take the piss out of the original. By adding his own piss instead, he created something way better and way cooler. Mind you, this ain’t gonna be the first choice for museum retrospectives or Movie Appreciation 101, but in a kinder, fairer world, I reckon it would be.

Great job all the way around. Can’t wait to share this with all my know-it-all, I done-seen-everything friends.

Foreword: I haven't seen the original in sometime, which I prefer for watching edits and I also didn't review the changes (log) ahead of watching, which I also prefer. I looked at the edit list back when I downloaded the edit, but I like to not know what I'm walking into; I don't watch an edit for a few months or more after downloading it.

What I liked: It was nice to see a stream lined story. I enjoyed the new sound track as well. It was engaging.

What I didn't: Maybe I missed some of the details, but it felt like a leap to go from the obelisk being on the moon to it teleporting or something the main character at the end to the acid trip experience. Maybe this is just the guy running out of air? The only stretch was the jump from being out side the ship to going into acid land.
Also, the song choice (Flight of the Concords?) when the guys friend died seemed out of place, but that was the only song that felt like that to me.

Overall: This is a very different experience than the original and I think it kept some important themes and added some fun. I would recommend people check this out. I felt after thinking about the whole movie more and the ending, it all sort of fits.

Extra: Keep up the good work. I like when people can take something old and find a way to make it feel new, and this you did in spades!

Watched it tonight and was entertained. Was it a masterpiece? Nah. Was it a fun watch? Yeah sure. Will I watch it again? Maybe, maybe not. But it was cool. Recommend? Sure, why not?

(Didn't rate anything except Enjoyment because whatever.)