2010

Released: 1984
Science fiction, drama
Starring: Roy Scheider, John Lithgow, Helen Mirren
Director: Peter Hyams
Running Time: 116 minutes

The breakdown:
A crew of Americans and Russians travel to Jupiter to find out what happened to the lost crew of the Discovery.

This movie was based on the book written by Arthur C. Clarke, a sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Obviously, since Stanley Kubrick didn't direct it, it's not as quiet, it has a lot more dialogue, and is faster paced than 2001.
Essentially, no one on Earth fully understands what happened 9 years ago to the space ship Discovery.  The Russians and Americans have a tense relationship but the scientists work out a way for a few Americans to travel aboard a Russian ship to investigate what exactly happened.  While they are near Jupiter a state of war develops between the two countries.  The Russian ship arrives at the Discovery and the investigation begins.  They need to find out why H.A.L. malfunctioned (if he did at all), what happened to all of the crew, and what's the purpose of the large black monolith orbiting Jupiter.

I liked the sequel myself.  It answered some questions, but definitely raised more.  The ending for me, was satisfactory and the story line kept me intrigued.  The first movie certainly stands alone and didn't need a sequel to be made, but if you want more, this movie's for you.

I won't talk about the entire thing, since this one is a bit more straight forward than the first one, but I can easily recommend it.

I give it 4 out of 5 ticket stubs.  It isn't as profoundly meaningful as the first, but it's imaginative and interesting to watch.  Well acted and directed.