Despite the fact that it's been over 40 years since 2001: A Space Odyssey made its way into theatres, people are still pondering what the hell happened when protagonist Dave ended up flying through some kind of LSD-inspired portal and came out staring at an older version of himself in what can only be described as "the strangest room imaginable." Truth is, this ending remains immortally controversial, because WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED? In a lot of ways, the controversial nature of this ending has only succeeded in putting a bunch of people off of the movie: after defeating the menacing on-board computer HAL 9000, astronaut Dave travels through time - probably - and winds up at the beginning (or end) or the universe. 2001 ends with the embryo (?) of a baby floating into space, and with the minds of those who sat through the film feeling eternally puzzled and broken.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
