2001: A Space Odyssey
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 7 of 21 science fiction films by recommenders
Recommended for its striking effects and production design that still hold up, and for a profound, awe-inspiring experience. Critics find its slow pacing hard to sit through.
12 people recommended 2001: A Space Odyssey in Hacker News comments, 6 had mixed feelings and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 20 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 18 of those comments still count.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- mixed feelings
- 6
- warn against or regret it
- 3
The record
Recommended in 6 of 12 months
In 11 different threads.
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it carries the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 11 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 17% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 18 of the 21 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Profound, thought-provoking viewing experience
“The setting and presentation made all the difference between a seemingly-pointless waste of time and a profound life experience.”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” “Kubrick and Clarke were truly sages to envision the next step between humanity and the star child”
Comment from 4 Feb 2026 in “NASA acknowledges the elephant in the room with the SLS rocket” “I felt it in 2001 Space Odyssey when they show the transition of the bone to space exploration”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Lunar Flyby” Effects and production design still hold up
“It's astonishing to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey today and reflect on how well the production design has aged.”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “Jurassic Park - Tablet device on Nedry's desk? (2012)” “2001's effects are genius and still look pretty good nearly sixty years later”
Comment from 15 Feb 2026 in “Babylon 5 Is Now Free to Watch on YouTube” More memorable than most later films
“remains more memorable than most films made after the namesake year”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “The Art and Beauty of Blade Runner (2015)” “60s has so many good movies like 2001, psycho etc etc”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix” Praised Kubrick's direction and vision
“he did such a good job on 2001: A Space Odyssey”
Comment from 14 Apr 2026 in “Your Startup Is Probably Dead on Arrival”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Slow, boring pacing
“found 2001 space odyssey boring as heck”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Why 90s Movies Feel More Alive Than Anything on Netflix” “they're just painfully slow”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “The Art and Beauty of Blade Runner (2015)”
Other science fiction films people recommend
The four most recommended other science fiction films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blade Runner | 42 | 10 | 8 | 84% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Colossus: The Forbin Project | 29 | 2 | 2 | 94% | 8 | — | — |
| The Fifth Element | 20 | 3 | 1 | 95% | 4 | — | — |
| Jurassic Park (1993 film) | 19 | 4 | 6 | 76% | 7 | — | Approved |
| 2001: A Space OdysseyThis page | 12 | 6 | 3 | 80% | 6 | — | Approved |
Also compared with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Alien (1979 film), They Live and Arrival (2016).
What people said
18 of the 21 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Clarke felt guilty about the perspective that 2001 gave the public of AI.”
“None of them have the speech.”
“The 2160 stream looks amazing.”
“remains more memorable than most films made after the namesake year”
“they're just painfully slow”
“Are we seriously using a Manga and a sci-fi movie from the 60s as a source?”
“When I was a teen I used to have to manually sync it up with a DVD and CD player.”
“he did such a good job on 2001: A Space Odyssey”
“I felt it in 2001 Space Odyssey when they show the transition of the bone to space exploration”
“2010 is a good follow on to the 2001 book”
“2001's effects are genius and still look pretty good nearly sixty years later”
“Kubrick and Clarke were truly sages to envision the next step between humanity and the star child”
“The setting and presentation made all the difference between a seemingly-pointless waste of time and a profound life experience.”
“I loved every second of those long boring sequences in it.”
“It's astonishing to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey today and reflect on how well the production design has aged.”
“Show that the movie a space odyssey was wrong about what's out there.”
“60s has so many good movies like 2001, psycho etc etc”
“found 2001 space odyssey boring as heck”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.