Following the setback experienced by the Discovery One mission to Jupiter in 2001, Dr. Heywood Floyd (played by Roy Scheider) stepped down from his role as head of the National Council for Astronautics. A few years passed before the Soviets launched the Leonov and its crew toward Jupiter, accompanied by three American astronauts—including Floyd—to look into what happened to Discovery and the problems with HAL 9000, the ship’s computer that seemed to have a mind of its own. Keir Dullea reprises his role as astronaut David Bowman, who had disappeared previously, while Helen Mirren portrays the captain of the Leonov. Bob Balaban and John Lithgow are also among the American astronauts on board. "2010: The Year We Make Contact" (1984) is a science-fiction film that feels grounded in reality, standing apart from its predecessor, “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968), because it’s less focused on artistic expression and more concerned with dramatic storytelling. This isn't to say it's superior; simply different. "2001" posed a number of questions, but this film attempts to supply responses—something that some viewers might not welcome. These are the kinds of things people will be wondering about: What caused HAL’s failure? What was the true purpose behind Discovery’s initial mission, which Floyd wasn't aware of? Where did Bowman go? And what is the meaning of the giant monolith orbiting Jupiter? The two movies work well together, each enhancing and contrasting with the other. This film presents a more conventional adventure set in the near future involving space travel. It's not like Star Wars, which leans into fantasy elements; "2010" is science-fiction geared toward adults. Star Trek also falls under that category, but “2010” feels considerably more believable, and I found that appealing. You won’t find any Klingons or spaceship battles here. It's closer in tone to films like “Mission to Mars” (2000) and “The Martian” (2015). The movie has a running time of 1 hour, 56 minutes. GRADE: B

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