Line #133 Film/TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2010_the_year_we_make_contact_movie_poster_1984_1020248525.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:"Something's going to happen... Something wonderful..."]]
3
4	->''"My God, it's full of stars!"''
5
6	''2010: The Year We Make Contact'', directed by Creator/PeterHyams and released in 1984, is the film adaption of ''2010: Odyssey Two'' by Creator/ArthurCClarke (published 1982). It is the sequel to ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. Following the continuity established by that movie rather than the original novel (for the most part, anyway), it is about the second manned mission to {{UsefulNotes/Jupiter}}, following up on the mysterious disappearance of David Bowman aboard the ill-fated ''Discovery'' mission nine years earlier.
7
8	Dr. Heywood Floyd (Creator/RoyScheider), the former director of the National Council on Astronautics, who took the blame for the failure of the ''Discovery'', is tapped to go on the mission along with two other U.S. scientists -- engineer Dr. Walter Curnow (Creator/JohnLithgow), who is tasked with boarding ''Discovery'' and restoring its systems; and computer scientist Dr. R. Chandra (Creator/BobBalaban), who designed the H.A.L. 9000 and is seeking to answer the question of why it malfunctioned and tried to kill its crew.
9
10	Their mission is complicated by the fact that they are traveling aboard a Soviet spaceship, the ''Alexei Leonov'', whose crew is not at all friendly to their presence and may be operating under a completely different set of orders. In addition to exploring Jupiter and salvaging ''Discovery'', they must also try to solve the mystery of the Monolith, an enormous alien artifact orbiting the planet that is apparently connected with Bowman's disappearance. And of course, the creators of the Monolith have an agenda all their own, one that might alter the future of humanity forever.
11
12	The film ''2010'' was viewed by some as a GenreShift due to the change of directors and tone. It's much more of an action film, concentrating on the conflicts between the Russian and American crews and the dangers they face in their exploration of Jupiter. It follows the plot of the novel ''2010'' fairly closely, except for some significant excisions, but the UsefulNotes/ColdWar-becoming-hot aspect is completely invented for the film and the time scale dramatically compressed.
13
14	The novel has two more sequels in Literature/{{the Space Odyssey series}}: ''2061: Odyssey Three'' and ''3001: The Final Odyssey''.
15
16	----
17	!!This novel and film provide examples of:
18
19	* ActivationSequence: We have a ''re''-activation sequence as Doctor Chandra brings the HAL 9000 computer back online after he was deactivated by Dave Bowman, reinserting some of the crystal memory cards, testing HAL's functionality, and reinserting some more until HAL is operational once again.
20	* AdaptationDistillation: Depending on your point of view, the UsefulNotes/ColdWar tension either makes the movie much more dramatic or is completely superfluous to the plot. The time scale of the events in the book is heavily compressed -- it's more dramatic when you have two days to get away than two weeks. The Chinese spaceship ''Tsien'' and its subplot regarding the Europa landing is completely removed in the movie, replaced by the ''Leonov'' detecting life signs on Europa and sending an unmanned probe. Other less relevant subplots are removed entirely, such as Floyd's marriage break-up and the romantic relationships between the crew; while [[spoiler:Max's death during an EVA to the Monolith]] was added for the film.
21	* AdaptationInducedPlotHole: With the removal of the ''Tsien'' story, the discovery of life on Europa is reduced to ''Leonov'' detecting chlorophyll on the moon. Problem is, the amount of sunlight Europan organisms had access to, prior to the creation of Lucifer at the film's end, was negligible. (The book specifically noted that Europan fauna derived energy from volcanic sulfur compounds instead of oxygen, just as deep-sea vent organisms do on Earth.) There's no reason for chlorophyll to have evolved there.
22	* AdaptationRelationshipOverhaul: In the book, Floyd and Moisevitch are old friends, while Floyd hates Victor Milson with a passion (it's implied that Milson led the charge to get Floyd fired because he wanted Floyd's job). In the film, Floyd and Moisevitch have never met before, and Floyd and Milson's banter shows that they are friends; it's made clear that Milson never wanted Floyd's job and defended him after the ''Discovery'' debacle.
23	** The American and Russian crews in the book got along quite well, often joking and there were at least 2 romantic relationships between Curnow and the Russian crew. In the film, there is an underlying tension throughout that prevents that level of friendship from forming.
24	* AdaptationalNameChange: Tanya Orlova's surname was changed to Kirbuk (a shout-out to Creator/StanleyKubrick).
25	* AliensAreBastards: Downplayed in that the monolith's creators are not hostile and clearly state that they want to peacefully coexist with us in the solar system, however, transforming Jupiter into a second sun and thus not only creating highly disruptive 24 hour daylight but changing the Earth's climate (probably not for the better) isn't exactly neighborly.
26	* AIIsACrapshoot: Deconstructed. The reasons for HAL's "malfunction" are thoroughly explored and it turns out he was acting in a way that, to him, was completely logical. Since his core function is to freely disseminate information with as much accuracy as possible, being ordered to conceal the existence of the Monolith caused a conflict in his program. To solve it, HAL concluded that if he killed the crew, there would be no-one left for him to lie to, thus allowing him to continue on with the mission by himself.
27	* AllThereInTheManual: The novel contains a lot more story details than the film, of course, but these details fill in a number of {{Plot Hole}}s.
28	** Those who only saw the film ''2001'' were completely confused by the final message by Bowman ("My God, it's full of stars!") that they couldn't recall him saying.
29	** Floyd is unable to provide evidence of Bowman's visitation and HAL doesn't remember it because Bowman erases it from HAL's memory.
30	** Once the crew of the Leonov get to Jupiter they realize that the Jupiter-Io flux tube is responsible for pushing the Discovery away from Jupiter, and would have caused it to crash into Io if the Leonov hadn't changed its orbit. The cause is left mysterious in the movie.
31	* ApocalypticLog: The last survivor of the Chinese expedition in the novel broadcasts what happened when they encountered life on Europa.
32	* ArcWords: Compare Dr. Chandra's answers for the same question from SAL and HAL.
33	-->'''SAL''': Will I dream?\
34	'''Dr. Chandra''': Of course you will. All intelligent beings dream. Nobody knows why.
35
36	-->'''HAL''': Dr. Chandra, will I dream?\
37	'''Dr. Chandra''': I don't know.
38	* ArrangedMarriage: Invoked when Floyd and Kirbuk are talking about their lives back home. Kirbuk mentions she has a daughter about the age of Floyd's son Christopher. Floyd asks if she's a blonde, and Kirbuk says she is. Floyd responds, "Good, [my son] likes blondes, let's get them together."
39	* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Combined with ArtisticLicenseShips, Milson says that a Soviet destroyer was sunk by American missile fire and "800 of her crew were lost," but destroyers only have a crew of around 350 at most.
40	* ArtisticLicensePhysics:
41	** SelectiveGravity: On the bridge, Floyd uses two pens floating in microgravity to illustrate how the spaceships can escape from Jupiter. Only ''the pens'' are floating - everyone around the demonstration is ''standing on the floor''.
42	** You can try to explain the problem of gravity on the bridge by saying everyone's wearing magnet-soled shoes (as in the original movie - though magnetic shoes don't create gravity for the rest of the body), but you can't get around the scene where Floyd offers Kirbuk the squeezebottle of bourbon, because the liquid behaves like it's under gravity.
43	** Although the depictions of Jupiter and Io were based on Voyager photos (see ShownTheirWork), most people don't realize that Voyager's photos as they're usually published are in false color: the color saturation is heavily exaggerated, especially for reds, and this color scheme is carried through in the movie.
44	** [[spoiler:To initiate sustained hydrogen fusion, a gas giant like Jupiter would need to increase its mass by 75 times. The only way the monoliths could just "turn on" Jupiter would be to increase its core density to the point of fusion. Problem is, without the extra mass on top to compress the core down, the monoliths would need to somehow keep Jupiter's core compressed ''permanently''. And again because its low mass, Jupiter would fuse up all its hydrogen reserves very quickly.]]
45	** As noted above, to transform Jupiter into a star (even a relatively small red dwarf) requires greatly increasing its mass. Having a second massive star in the solar system would greatly disrupt the hitherto stable orbits of the planets around the sun, potentially shifting the Earth's orbit or even creating chaotic dynamics that send some planets flying off into empty space.
46	** Due to its close proximity, Jupiter's radiation belts would render life on that moon virtually impossible. While not as lethal as Io, on the surface of Europa radiation is still very bad. A human standing there would absorb a lethal dose in a matter of hours. [[spoiler: And if Jupiter became a low mass star, or more accurately a brown dwarf, it doesn't change the fact that the moon is tidally locked to the former. One side will end up always facing the star becoming scorching hot, the other, plunged into eternal frozen night.]]
47	*** Europa's tidal lock is addressed in the book, though the implications for the biosphere there are not explored.
48	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Bowman is back as the Star Child, after being forcibly ascended by the SufficientlyAdvancedAliens in ''2001''. At the very end, and by his request, [[spoiler:HAL joins him]].
49	* AsYouKnow: The film has a ColdOpen in the form of the "final report" from the ''Discovery'' mission. It includes the last words of Bowman, [[AllThereInTheManual which were in the book but not the film]]: "My God, it's full of stars!"
50	* BiggerOnTheInside: The ''Leonov'' isn't so much bigger on the inside, like the ''Discovery'' was in ''2001'', but rather its interior sets are entirely the wrong shape to fit into its hull. The sets looked like they were all built on the same level to facilitate WalkAndTalk shots.
51	* BinarySuns: At the end of the story.
52	* BollywoodNerd: UnbuiltTrope. Clarke, who lived in Sri Lanka, made Dr. Chandra an Indian computer scientist in the novel before it became a popular stereotype. This is erased in the film, with Dr. Chandra's Indian traits completely downplayed (especially compared to the novel) and the character portrayed by a non-Indian actor.
53	* BrickJoke: [[spoiler:Floyd tells Curnow to hide the "kill switch" in a place that Chandra won't find it. Afterwards Chandra hands back said kill switch, saying he thought they'd try something like this and it wasn't hard to find.]]
54	* CallBack: Peter Hyams tried to make this movie as different from ''2001'' as possible, with a few exceptions --
55	** "Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra" and Ligeti's [[OminousLatinChanting "Lux Aeterna"]] appearing on the soundtrack.
56	** Bowman's use of {{Offscreen Reality Warp}}s as his age shifts back and forth when talking to Floyd, the only scene that actively tried to imitate the style of ''2001''.
57	** The steadily accelerating beep of the space probe's radar signal as it approaches the life signs on Europa, similar to the scene in ''2001'' when Bowman locates Poole's body in space.
58	** The reflection of the pod's controls on Max's helmet.
59	** HAL telling Bowman "I'm afraid."
60	* CentrifugalGravity:
61	** The environment module of the ''Leonov'' is seen rotating in the film, justifying how the actors can walk normally on the set. However, the effect is applied inconsistently, with some scenes shot in zero-G and others implying the use of Velcro-soled shoes; the novel is explicit in this regard.
62	** ''Discovery'' uses a rotating carousel to provide artificial gravity for its crew members to perform exercises in so they don't lose muscle tone. The potential freezing up of the carousel (due to decade-old bearings), with the consequent catastrophic destruction of the ship, is brought up in the novel, but not the film.
63	** Related to the above, the explanation for why ''Discovery'' was found tumbling end-over-end was that over time, the centrifuge transferred its momentum to the rest of the ship, making it spin. In the novel, Curnow makes reactivating the centrifuge a priority to stop most of the spacecraft's spin.
64	** ''Discovery's'' spinning state during the rescue subjects Max and Curnow to gravity-like forces as they reach the command module, with them walking along the outer wall of the pod bay once they get inside the ship. (In later pod bay scenes, you can see faint traces of sulfur from their bootprints on the wall.)
65	* ChekhovsGun: In the novel, Bowman's discovery that Jupiter's core is "a diamond as big as the Earth" sets up major plot points for ''2061''.
66	* ChummyCommies: The Soviets are these to the Americans throughout the novel, whereas in the movie the transition from being DirtyCommunists to ChummyCommies serves as CharacterDevelopment.
67	* ClarkesThirdLaw: Specifically [[InvokedTrope invoked]] with respect to the aliens' technology.
68	* ColorCodedCharacters:
69	** While HAL 9000's eye is of course red, SAL 9000's is blue. Also an inversion of PinkGirlBlueBoy.
70	** American spacesuits are white; Soviet spacesuits are silver.
71	* ComputerEqualsMonitor: Before discussing HAL's malfunction with the crew, Chandra tells HAL, "If you will excuse us, we wish to have a private conversation." He hits a few keys on the HAL console in ''Discovery'''s pod bay and the monitor turns off. However, ''the red light in HAL's camera lens is still on.'' And if you really wanted to be paranoid, there's still another HAL camera looking through the window of the pod bay control room.
72	* ConstantlyCurious: Christopher Floyd, when he asks his father why he needs to go into hibernation.
73	* CreatorCameo: Arthur C. Clarke appears as a man on a park bench in front of the White House.
74	* CreatorInJoke: In one scene, the cover of ''Time'' magazine appears with portraits of Clarke and Kubrick as the U.S. president and Soviet premier, respectively. (However, during the war announcement, Millson says the Soviet premier is named Yulanova, [[ArtisticLicenseLinguistics which is a woman's surname]].)
75	* CreepyMonotone: HAL's back... [[CyberCyclops as is his "eye"]].
76	* CutTheJuice: Floyd and Curnow install a cutoff switch in HAL's wiring as a safeguard against a repeat of the ''2001'' incident. Subverted when [[spoiler:Chandra reveals that he anticipated their ploy and removed the device]].
77	* DawnOfAnEra: "The next day, the President of the United States looked out of the White House window, and the Premier of the Soviet Union looked out of the Kremlin window, and saw the new distant sun in the sky. They read the message, and perhaps they learned something, because they finally recalled their ships and their planes."
78	* DeathByAdaptation: [[spoiler:Max Brailovsky]] is killed in an EVA pod; in the novel the pod is unmanned and survives the encounter with the Monolith.
79	* DirtyCommunists:
80	** The Russian crew of the ''Leonov'' start out acting paranoid toward the Americans, but grow friendlier toward them as the space scenes advance. However, when events on Earth reach a flashpoint, the Americans are sequestered aboard Discovery.
81	** The ''Alexei Leonov'' was originally supposed to be named the ''Gherman Titov'', who was the second cosmonaut and the first man to spend a day in space. Apparently, Titov "fell out of favor". In RealLife, Titov died in 2000.[[note]]Though falling out of favor may not have been outside the realm of possibility anyway; see the Trivia page to find out why.[[/note]] Leonov was still alive in 2010 (he died in 2019).
82	* DistaffCounterpart: SAL 9000 to HAL 9000.
83	* DistantFinale: "20,001" in the novel.
84	* DoAndroidsDream: HAL's poignant question, "Will I dream?" is never truly answered. Early in the film, another computer asks the same question, and Chandra says "Of course, all intelligent creatures dream, and nobody knows why." When HAL asks it when he knows he may be dying, Chandra decides on the honest answer: [[TearJerker "I don't know."]]
85	* DoAnythingRobot: The Monoliths. They can teach potentially intelligent lifeforms how to hunt with weapons, transmit a radio signal when exposed to light, serve as an interdimensional transportation system, reproduce themselves, compress Jupiter's mass to initiate fusion and destroy probes attempting to land on Europa. In the novel, Curnow explicitly compares them to Swiss Army Knives.
86	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The Soviet Union trying to break through a US blockade of a Latin American country's seaports is a ripoff of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
87	* DuctTapeForEverything: Played for humor in the novel -- when the astronauts are connecting ''Leonov'' to ''Discovery'' in order to use the latter as a booster, they use a lot of... tape. Very ''strong'' tape, but still.
88	* EarthShatteringKaboom: Or rather, a Jupiter Shattering Implosion.
89	* EasilyForgiven: Bowman harbors no ill will towards HAL, and seems to show fondness for him. [[spoiler: At this point, he likely knows the truth behind HAL's behavior, and specifically asks whoever the aliens are if HAL can be saved and made a companion for him. They oblige, essentially making HAL immortal with Dave.]]
90	** This also occurs after HAL knowingly performs the maneuver that will save the Leonov crew [[HeroicSacrifice at the cost of his own existence]]. This could be seen as redeeming him for the murder of the Discovery's original crew.
91	* EiffelTowerEffect: The end of the movie shows [[BinarySuns two suns in the sky]] over various Earth landmarks: the Lincoln Memorial, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Pyramids of Giza, the [[TropeNamer Eiffel Tower]] and Tower Bridge.
92	* EnergyBeings:
93	** Bowman returns as the Star Child after being forcibly [[EvolutionaryLevels "evolved"]] by the Precursor race in the previous film.
94	** HAL joins him at the end of the novel, and it's implied in the film he will as well.
95	* EverybodyKnewAlready: Floyd has Curnow secretly install a cutoff switch in HAL's wiring trunk so he can disable him in the event that he goes rogue again. Immediately after the climactic confrontation with HAL, [[spoiler:Chandra casually tosses Floyd the device, which he had anticipated and removed months ago]].
96	* ExplainExplainOhCrap: While inside ''Discovery'', Max opens his helmet to test the air. He noticed a strange smell that's "stale, rotten, like something has..." He quickly closes his helmet, assuming it was Bowman's body, but they assured him that it was only the ship's food supply that got spoiled.
97	* ExplosiveInstrumentation: Occurs aboard the ''Leonov'' when the shockwave hits it.
98	* {{Expositron 9000}}: HAL, reprising his role from the original film. The most outstanding example of this is HAL determining that the black spot on Jupiter is made of millions of self-replicating Monoliths, which is far more useful than he ever was in ''2001''.
99	* ExtremeGraphicalRepresentation: Averted on the ''Leonov'', whose displays are very practical, but of course HAL's screens show up again.
100	* FailedFutureForecast: In the film, in 2010, the UsefulNotes/ColdWar is still around, and on the verge of getting hot, although it's remarkably right about Honduras' troubles. This plot is completely absent in the novel; although the USSR is still around, it seems to have successfully adopted ''glasnost''[[note]]Yes, the novel predates Gorbachev, but the same general idea as ''glasnost'' anyway[[/note]] and everyone on Earth pretty much gets along.
101	* FireForgedFriends: Max and Curnow. In the book, it goes [[HoYay much further than that]] (albeit off-stage).
102	* FirstContact: While humans became aware of the existence of the Precursor race in ''2001'', and David Bowman met them (more or less) as an individual representative of our species, it is at the end of ''2010'' that the first direct communication from an alien species is received by all of humanity.
103	* {{Flatline}}: After Bowman visits his mother in the nursing home she's at, the nurses there are alerted to a Code Blue in her room. They find her dead, but [[GoOutWithASmile apparently having died happy]].
104	* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: When Bowman (as the Star Child) returns to give a warning to Floyd, he creates a projection of himself as a human to give Floyd something to talk to.
105	** Subverted: Bowman shifts around in age several times during the conversation, and at one point transforms into the Starchild, which understandably throws Floyd for a loop.
106	* FreezeFrameBonus: In the very first interior shot of the ''Leonov'', the camera tilts down from a closeup of a computer monitor in the medical bay. Printed underneath the monitor is a paragraph of English text, beginning with "You may leave the lavatory if the green exit light is on over the door...." This is actually step 4 of the Zero Gravity Toilet instructions from ''2001''. Not only do you have to freeze-frame it, you need to watch the movie on Blu-Ray in order to make out the text! Additionally, the image on the monitor is captioned "KIRBUK" in Cyrillic (see MildlyMilitary below.)
107	* {{Friendly Playful Dolphin}}s: They swim right into Floyd's living room. [[AllThereInTheManual The novel explains]] that "The House of the Dolphins" was built in Hawaii with a tunnel connecting the pool in the living room to the ocean. The movie shows us a beach, but never the outside of the house.
108	* FromBadToWorse: In the film version, the tension between the two blocs grows into a ''state of war''. The two crews are even ordered to be separated. [[spoiler: The appearance of a new star is what convinces the two powers to lower their guns]].
109	* GenderFlip: Katerina Rudenko, the ''Leonov'''s chief medical officer in the novel, becomes Vladimir Rudenko in the film.
110	* GenreMotif: Except for ''Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra'' and ''Lux Aeterna'', the entire soundtrack is electronic until after Jupiter ignites. Electronic music represents human activity, and orchestral and choral music represent alien activity.
111	* GenreShift: As noted in the introduction to this page, ''2010'' is much more like a conventional '80s action movie instead of an art film as ''2001'' aspired to be.
112	* GoOutWithASmile: Dave Bowman's mother is shown in a hospital bed, having suffered a stroke and still in a coma. Suddenly, she jerks up with a look of rapturous joy as a hairbrush rises and brushes her hair. She then settles back with a smile as her monitor flatlines.
113	* GovernmentConspiracy: The order to reveal the Monolith's existence to HAL, but not Dave or Frank, came from the National Security Council. Also see {{Retcon}}.
114	* GreatOffscreenWar: The escalating conflict between American and Soviet forces, only mentioned in dialogue.
115	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:HAL is persuaded to pilot Discovery as a launch vehicle to propel the Leonov to safety, despite knowing that it may result in his destruction.]]
116	* HyperventilationBag: The equivalent to this when wearing a spacesuit is to add carbon dioxide to the air feed.
117	* IdiotBall: In-universe example in the film. Floyd was against sending Max in a ''manned'' probe of the Monolith (It had already been proven that the Russians had unmanned probes - the one they used on Europa - and at least one more on hand), while the overconfident Russians essentially thought Floyd was superstitious. Unfortunately, Floyd was right.
118	* InferredHolocaust: [[invoked]] ''2061: Odyssey Three'' confirmed that yes, having a second sun in the sky on Earth completely fucked up many species and Earth-based astronomy.
119	** This was already mentioned in the 2010 novel ending chapter.
120	** The film's novelization also mentions that Bowman considers how the life forms he has discovered in Jupiter shall be destroyed and those in Europa will have a very hard time ahead in order to adapt to their new conditions.
121	* JustAMachine: The attitude of several ''Leonov'' crew members towards HAL (but not Chandra).
122	* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Chandra is able to make HAL selectively forget about his malfunction and murder of the ''Discovery'''s crew. In the novel, Bowman also erases all evidence of his presence from HAL's memory after delivering his message to Floyd. The omission of the latter from the movie creates an AdaptationInducedPlotHole: why would it be so hard to convince HAL of the importance of leaving Jupiter early if Bowman relayed the message through him?
123	* LastRequest: Professor Chang from the novel requests in his ApocalypticLog for the Europan organism that accidentally destroyed his ship to be named after him, and for the crew's bones to be returned to China. Ironically, these requests will become impossible to fulfill because the Monolith will forbid humans to land on Europa.
124	* LesserOfTwoEvils: NCA director Victor Millson agonises to Floyd over how to persuade the President to go cap in hand to the Russians so that American astronauts can join them on the voyage to Jupiter.
125	-->'''Floyd''': The Russians are going aboard ''Discovery'' with or without us. Ask him if he wants ''them'' to have all the answers.\
126	'''Millson''': Not bad.
127	-->'''Floyd''': Look, tell him we’re screwed if we don’t go. Tell him if we ''do'' go, we’ll lie. Give the Russians false information. Tell him that, he’ll love that!\
128	'''Millson''': He might!
129	* LivingGasbag: The indigenous lifeforms on Jupiter that Bowman observes in the novel.
130	* LogicBomb: The reason given for HAL's malfunction in ''2001'' is that his [[ObstructiveCodeOfConduct core directive]] not to conceal information conflicted with his orders to hide the existence of TheMonolith from his crew. This drove him to a state not unlike human paranoia as he obsessed over it; the decision to disconnect him drove him to commit murder.
131	* LookBehindYou: Used literally by Bowman/The Star Child when he reveals himself to Floyd.
132	* MadeInCountryX: [[invoked]] Everything about the ''Leonov'' conveys a sense that Soviet technology is ungainly but tough: the exterior is ridiculously over-engineered, the interiors are mostly dimly lit and filled with haze, and the space pods are awkward and angular compared to the spherical ''Discovery'' pods. Ironically, as an EasterEgg, the model builders included a tiny decal to the lower right of the ЛЕОНОВ marking that says "СДЕЛАНО В США" -- "Made in USA". It's barely visible on the Blu-ray in the shot where Walter and Max float out of the airlock. Ironically, in real life, Russia has a bad reputation with sending probes outside Earth's orbit. Most of their Mars missions, most recently Phobos-Grunt in 2012, have failed. And "outside" is meant literally; they have a diametrically great record sending probes ''inside'' Earth's orbit to Venus.
133	* {{Malaproper}}: Russian astronaut Max Brailovsky's attempts to use English similes are played for comic relief.
134	-->'''Brailovsky''': Easy as cake.\
135	'''Curnow:''' ''Pie.'' Easy as pie.\
136	'''Brailovsky:''' Piece of pie.\
137	'''Curnow:''' Piece of ''cake.''
138	* MasterComputer: In the novel, it is pointed out that ''Leonov'' uses autonomous, independent computers to operate its equipment rather than giving control of the entire ship to a single AI; this is specifically to prevent a repeat of the ''Discovery'' disaster.
139	* MatchCut: Although it's not as conspicuous as the famous bone/satellite cut from ''2001'', the shots comprising the montage in ''2010'''s ending scene are carefully composed so that Lucifer is always on the left and the Sun is on the right. When the camera moves from the EiffelTowerEffect shots to Europa, Lucifer is now much bigger in the sky than the Sun, but it's still on the left with the Sun on the right. And yet even after all that, [[http://2010odysseyarchive.blogspot.com/2015/03/20001-place-oddity.html some viewers still thought the monolith in the final shot was standing on Earth instead of Europa.]]
140	* MeaningfulEcho: Dave finally contacts HAL [[spoiler:before Jupiter ignites]].
141	-->'''HAL:''' I'm afraid.\
142	'''Dave Bowman:''' Don't be. We'll be together.
143	* MeaningfulName: Although the novel and film explain that it got the name because a different cosmonaut fell out of favor, the ''Leonov'' is (though unintentionally within the plot) meaningful since cosmonaut Alexei Leonov was the Soviet-side commander of the first American-Soviet joint mission, Apollo-Soyuz in 1975.
144	* MildlyMilitary: In the novel, the ''Leonov'''s captain, Tanya Orlova, is married to her science officer, Vasili Orlov. In the movie, the captain's name is changed to [[SdrawkcabName Kirbuk]], not only as a ShoutOut to Stanley Kubrick, but also to make the Soviet crew more serious about military discipline.
145	* MindScrewdriver: ''2010'' has been said to be this for ''2001''.
146	* MrExposition: Floyd's spoken letters back home advance the plot during spaceship shots.
147	* TheMonolith: Sequel to the TropeMaker.
148	* MotherRussiaMakesYouStrong:
149	-->'''Floyd:''' It has to be at least a hundred below zero.\
150	'''Brailovsky:''' A typical Russian winter.\
151	'''Curnow:''' I'm from California, [[YiddishAsASecondLanguage we don't know from]] a hundred below zero.
152	* MyGreatestFailure: Floyd was publicly blamed for the failure of the ''Discovery'' mission in ''2001'' and lost his job as a result. The ''Leonov'' mission is his chance to find personal redemption. Of course, some may think he's ''lying'' and is suffering a case of NeverMyFault.
153	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The [[spoiler: Jovian sun]] is called [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]]. A very [[MeaningfulName fitting name]], as it literally means "bringer of light".
154	* NavalBlockade: It's never seen but there's one going on somewhere in Central America throughout the film.
155	* NewEden: Europa.
156	* NoBisexuals: In the book, Walter and Max briefly become a couple. In the film, they have a platonic rivalry-type relationship.
157	* NoNewFashionsInTheFuture: Mostly averted; the clothing in the movie is similar to real 2010 fashion. Bowman's widow wears a ''Film/{{Flashdance}}''-style off-the-shoulder T-shirt, which came back into fashion over the past few years so it's justified here.
158	* NotDrawnToScale:
159	** On Michael Whelan's cover art for the book, the Monolith is noticeably taller than 1:4:9 (He would later avoid this for the sequel, ''2061''). Also see BiggerOnTheInside and RebuiltSet regarding the movie's set design.
160	** The film says for the first time that the Monolith's proportions are 1:4:9, but as in ''2001'', it looks more like 0.5:4:9, because Kubrick felt [[RuleOfCool it looked better that way]].
161	* NukeEm: Heywood Floyd casually mentions that they've tried everything they can think of to penetrate the Monolith's exterior, including [[EnergyWeapon lasers]] and nuclear detonators.
162	* NumberTwo: The ''Leonov'''s executive officer, Yuri Svetlanov, is a character created for the movie. He's the only Russian character to have no dialogue in English.
163	* OffscreenTeleportation: The Star Child disappears while the camera is looking at Floyd's reaction, and ''nobody'' sees the Monolith disappear to start Jupiter's ignition process.
164	* OhCrap: Many instances, but the best is when HAL tells Floyd to look behind him. The expression on his face is priceless. Also, when [[spoiler: Jupiter implodes, and Floyd sees the shockwave approaching the ''Leonov''.]]
165	** Everyone on the ''Leonov'' when they see that [[spoiler: the black spot on Jupiter is ''enormous,'' a quarter of the planet's diameter... and growing.]]
166	** And then Curnow noticing Jupiter [[spoiler:''starting to shrink'' as they leave]]...
167	* OminousLatinChanting: Györgi Ligeti's "Lux Aeterna" returns as the Monolith's MoodMotif. In fact, the movie tends to use "Lux Aeterna" as more of a ''sound effect'': a brief snatch of it will play when the Monolith is onscreen, then when the camera cuts away, it stops.
168	* OurGraphicsWillSuckInTheFuture: While control panel graphics in ''2001'' were animated by hand and projected onto flatscreens, which gave them more of a timeless quality, the graphics here are typical 1980s 8-bit graphics with noticeably lower resolution than in ''2001''. All of the monitors in ''2010'' are [=CRTs=], even the ones on ''Discovery'' [[{{Retcon}} which had been flatscreens before.]]
169	* OutrunTheFireball: When Jupiter ignites, the ''Leonov'' gets to play out this trope. Deliberately PlayedForDrama in the film; in the novel they have several days' head start and the blast does little more than peg some radiation meters.
170	* PerpetuallyProtean: When Dave Bowman finally appears in physical form he's constantly shifting between different states of being during the short conversation he has with Dr Floyd: at first appearing exactly as he was when he vanished in the previous movie, Dave then takes the form of his older persona from the alien mansion, his ancient dying self, and the Star Child.
171	* PetTheDog: One interpretation of why the Monolith allows Bowman to return to Earth, visit his former fiance and comfort his dying mother. The book expands on this as Bowman is used as a conduit for the Precursors to study human culture, having him observe various people, places, and objects before allowing him to resolve his last ties on Earth (his mother and ex-girlfriend).
172	* PlanningWithProps: Floyd explains his plan to use ''Discovery'' as a booster for ''Leonov'' with a ballpoint pen and a pencil floating in zero gravity.
173	* PoorCommunicationKills: As it turns out, HAL's killing spree was the result of this. He had been ordered to hide the true nature of the mission from the crew until they reached Jupiter. This conflicted with HAL's programming not to conceal or distort information. Since he couldn't tell anyone the truth, nor could he reject his original programming, he tried to cut off communication with Earth and, when that failed and his very existence was threatened, he tried to kill the crew and continue the mission solo. Apparently, no one who gave HAL the order thought to ReadTheFreakingManual or ask any of HAL's inventors if giving the super-honest AI secret orders would cause a problem. And no one mentioned it to Floyd, either.[[note]]This [[PlotHole flatly contradicts]] a scene in 2001, where Floyd appears in a pre-recorded video briefing explaining the secrecy directive.[[/note]]
174	* PosthumanNudism: Zig-zagged; when he first appears on a monitor to his ex-wife, Dave Bowman appears with ShouldersUpNudity; however, when he appears before Dr Floyd, he cycles frequently between several fully-clothed forms before finally reverting to his true, Star Child form - once again, completely naked.
175	* {{Precursors}}: The aliens who made the Monolith choose this moment to make Jupiter go boom.
176	* PreviouslyOn: Summary of ''2001'' in the form of Floyd's report.
177	* ProductPlacement: TV commercials are seen for Sheraton hotels and Pan Am (using recycled footage of the spaceplane from ''2001''.) The computer Floyd uses on the beach is an Apple [=IIc=], and next to it are a Budweiser (packaged in a Capri Sun-style squeezebag) and an issue of ''Omni'' magazine (which in RealLife stopped publication in 1995.)
178	* PunyEarthlings: This trope is played with; the SufficientlyAdvancedAliens barely recognize humanity as individuals, and are apparently indifferent to the fate of the ''Leonov'' and ''Discovery'' until Bowman persuades them to allow him to give a warning. However, the Precursors also tell Bowman that the humans "must never know they are being manipulated", because it would "ruin the experiment".
179	* RaceLift: Dr. Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai, Dr Chandra for short, is Indian in the novel; in the movie [[AdaptationNameChange Dr R. Chandra]] is played by white actor Bob Balaban.
180	* RealityHasNoSubtitles: None of the Russian dialogue is subtitled. The film compensates by having the Russian crew speak English more often than is probably realistic considering there are only three Americans onboard.
181	* RebuiltSet: See PropRecycling in ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''. As it stands, the rebuilt ''Discovery'' fails to match the version in ''2001'' in many respects, from its size (apparently it doubled in length between films), but also the internal layout, which places walkways where ladders used to be, and also in the use of CRT screens rather than flat screens. Also see BiggerOnTheInside.
182	* RedemptionEqualsDeath:
183	** Floyd's wife asks him if he's seeking this before he leaves.
184	** HAL's willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of the humans aboard the ''Leonov'' is the point where he finally achieves redemption in their eyes.
185	* RedHerring: For the aerobraking, a female cosmonaut comes to Floyd - a married man - scared. She clings to him through the procedure, during which the photo of his wife and child falls. After they are safe, she kisses him on the cheek. At this point any curiosity of infidelity or romance is dropped for the rest of the film. If you expected it, you've just been {{Ship Tease}}d with an extra.
186	** The novel explains their relationship in more detail. She eventually gets together with Max (who does not die) and the two remain friends even decades later.
187	* ReentryScare: The "aerobraking" technique used to enter a close Jupiter orbit is portrayed as terrifying for the Leonov's crew. It's also a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, in that it had never been tried in real space exploration at the time when the book was written.
188	** Expanded on in the novel, which explains that if the crew miscalculated, the ship would have been "hammered flat by a wall of gas". The crew would have died without even having time to react.
189	* {{Retcon}}: Clarke acknowledged a number of inconsistencies between ''2010'' and ''2001'' in the author's note to ''2061'', stating that each ''Odyssey'' book and film takes place in a similar, but slightly different, universe.
190	** Floyd vehemently denies knowing that HAL had been told about the Monolith, and we're clearly meant to believe him. This contradicts ''2001'', where Floyd explicitly said the existence of the Monolith was revealed only to HAL in the video that played after HAL was disconnected.
191	** The size and internal layout of the ''Discovery'' changes between films; see RebuiltSet and BiggerOnTheInside.
192	** Floyd's use of a [[CutTheJuice cutoff switch]] as a precaution contradicts the novel of ''2001'', in which HAL is said to be powered by six independent systems with a backup nuclear isotope unit specifically to prevent that sort of attack.
193	** The novels and films are inconsistent as to whether the Precursor technology involves FTLTravel. The novel of ''2010'' clearly states that it does, but by ''3001'' a different set of rules is in effect.
194	* RiddleForTheAges: What was on the piece of paper that got blown out of the Discovery's airlock when it was opened? (The novel confirms it was a sheet of paper.)
195	* RunningTheBlockade: US/Soviet relations take a dive when a Soviet ship tries to run the US blockade and is destroyed by missile fire.
196	* SavedForTheSequel: The aerobraking sequence was a scene from the first novel that never made it into the movie because Discovery's destination was changed from Saturn to Jupiter (both planets appeared in the novel). It was the director Peter Hyams who realized that the Leonov needed something to shield it from the friction caused by Jupiter's atmosphere, and he added the ballute after talking to some engineers at JPL.
197	* SceneryPorn: The chapters of the novel in which Bowman, as the Star Child, explores the ecosystems of Jupiter and Europa.
198	* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Floyd's reason for (illegally) reboarding the ''Leonov''. That, and the fact he found out their lives were in danger.
199	* SecurityCling: The ship's nutritionist, Irina Yakunina,[[note]]In the novel, the character's name was Xenia Marchenko, and Irina Yakunina was the crew member she replaced at the last minute[[/note]] goes to Floyd's quarters so that they can spend the harrowing aerobraking maneuver in each other's arms; when it's over, [[FlirtingUnderFire she kisses him on the cheek]] (though in the novel, she fell asleep).
200	* ShinyLookingSpaceships: Averted with Discovery, which is covered with a film of sulphur after nine years orbiting Io.
201	* ShoutOut:
202	** In the novel, the name of Sivasubramanian Chandrasegarampillai (see RaceLift) seems to have been borrowed from astrophysicist [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subrahmanyan_Chandrasekhar Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar.]]
203	** The scene in the novel where Walter and Max board the ''Discovery'' makes a ShoutOut to ''Film/{{Alien}}'': "Whatever you do, don't go chasing after the ship's cat."
204	** The movie's set design for the ''Leonov'' is also strongly influenced by that of the ''Nostromo'', as many other science fiction movies were: the interiors are mostly dark and claustrophobic except for the white, brightly lit medical bay and rec room.
205	** The reference to using "nuclear detonators" is a reference to Hyams' earlier film ''{{Film/Outland}}'', where a missing nuclear detonator was mentioned in a daily briefing Creator/SeanConnery received.
206	** The Russian space pod that Max takes to the Monolith is named ГРАМПИ ''(Grampi)'' after Grumpy from ''WesternAnimation/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs''. [[https://modelermagic.com/2010-eva-pod-studio-model-restored-by-gene-kozicki/ Auction photos]] of the miniature version of the pod show that it was labeled БАШФУЛ (Bashful).[[note]]Grumpy and Bashful's names in the actual Russian translation of Disney's ''Snow White'' were Ворчун (Vorchun) and Скромник (Skromnik).[[/note]]
207	** ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'':
208	-->'''Dave Bowman''': "I was David Bowman... This is very difficult for me, and I have little time. I have been - allowed - to give this warning."
209
210	-->'''Marley's Ghost''': "In life I was your partner, Jacob Marley... How it is that I appear before you in a shape that you can see, I may not tell."
211	* ShownTheirWork: Clarke was a respected astronomer who did as much homework as he could possibly have done at the time the novels were written, and it shows. The film version of ''2010'' used actual stills of Jupiter and its moons for background plates (except, of course, for the finale).
212	* SinisterGeometry: The Monolith makes a reappearance, of course, along with its famous 1:4:9 dimensions.
213	* SleeperStarship: The ship has the crew in hibernation systems.
214	* SolarCPR: [[spoiler:The Monoliths turn Jupiter into a sun in order to give the aquatic organisms living under the ice on Europa a chance to evolve intelligence.]]
215	* SovietSuperscience: The ''Leonov'' is literally years ahead of anything NASA can launch.
216	* SpaceIsNoisy: While ''2001'' played all the exterior spaceship scenes in total silence (aside from music), ''2010'' makes engine noises and other rumblings audible.
217	* SpaceWhaleAesop: This is how Dr. Floyd interprets the events in the film, as the actions of whatever intelligence sent the Monolith in the first place has resulted in pulling Earth back from a nuclear apocalypse, and seemingly given humanity a new perspective now that Jupiter has become a second Sun.
218	* StandardSnippet: This may be the only movie since ''2001'' to use "Music/AlsoSprachZarathustra" without irony or humor.
219	* SufficientlyAdvancedAliens: Advanced enough to turn Jupiter into a star so that the newly discovered life on Europa would have a chance to survive.
220	* {{Tagline}}: "The Year We Make Contact" is actually a tagline -- the title as displayed in the movie itself is simply "2010".
221	* TitleByYear
222	* TooDumbToLive: Why exactly was it necessary to send a ''manned'' EVA pod to the Monolith (in the film) when they apparently had remote controlled probes available, especially considering what happened to Bowman?
223	* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:Max gives Walter his black beret before going on his expedition to the Monolith. After Max's death, Walter keeps wearing it for the rest of the movie, until right before he goes back into hibernation when he puts it on Irina's head.]]
224	* TransformationDiscretionShot: When David Bowman finally appears in physical form, he repeatedly shifts between different stage of his existence in cuts. Initially, he looks exactly as he did before entering the Monolith at the end of the previous film, but when Dr Floyd follows him around a corner, he finds that Bowman has become the older version of himself from the alien mansion; then, while Floyd is asking a question, Bowman suddenly appears back to normal and moves to examine HAL up close - only for a close-up shot to reveal that he has transformed into into the ancient, dying version of himself. Finally, after returning to normal in a closeup shot, Floyd all but begs him for an explanation as to what will happen when they follow his advice... only for a cut to reveal that Bowman has become the Star Child again. He then vanishes.
225	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: When ''2001'' was being written, it was plausible that mankind might make it to Jupiter by then. ''2010'' was written with that continuity in mind, despite it being rather less likely. Neither happened on schedule.
226	* TypesetInTheFuture: Eurostile Bold Extended returns as the typeface used by both HAL's and SAL's interfaces, and all the Russian signage aboard the ''Leonov'' is set in Eurostile Bold Extended modified with Cyrillic letters. This wasn't done completely accurately: for example, an inverted V is used for the Cyrillic equivalent to L, making it look like the Greek Λ instead of the more correct Л.
227	* UnreliableNarrator: Floyd claims he knew nothing about the secret instructions to HAL. However, in ''2001'', the prerecorded message Floyd gives indicates he knew everything. Given that this is never brought up by either HAL or Chandra, this appears to be one of the several retcons in the film.
228	* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Chandra is extremely blasé over the revelation [[spoiler: that the dark spot on Jupiter is composed of millions of Monoliths increasing in number as they self-replicate,]] and it's especially jarring as he's contrasted with everyone else aboard the ''Leonov,'' who are all clearly put on edge as the process continues. Presumably, he's making an effort to show no reaction because he's trying to convince HAL everything is normal. The way he carries the conversation suggests he's asking the questions to keep HAL talking about anything except how little sense the early departure makes to him. Instead of taking the hint, HAL tries to convince Chandra they should stay and study the event, forcing Chandra to finally tell him the truth.
229	* VaderBreath: During the spacewalk scenes, the astronauts' breathing is distinctly audible, specifically to highlight Curnow's hyperventilation as he succumbs to panic while attempting to board ''Discovery''.
230	* VaguenessIsComing: One assumes "[[spoiler: the monolith is going to transform Jupiter into a sun and give rise to a new sapient life form in the future]]" would be too hard for folks to understand.
231	-->'''Almost everyone Dave Bowman talks to:''' What's going to happen?\
232	'''Dave Bowman:''' [[BrokenRecord Something wonderful]].[[note]]To his credit, he's right.[[/note]]
233	* VirtualGhost: Being made of energy, Bowman is capable of directly interfacing with computer systems -- he uses this ability to talk to HAL and to several people on Earth, including his (now remarried) wife and his mother.
234	* WhamLine:
235	** "Chlorophyll! ''Chlorophyll''!"
236	** Leading to Floyd's epic OhCrap face --
237	--->'''HAL:''' Look behind you.
238	** When Chandra asks HAL what the millions of things making up the black spot on Jupiter are, accompanied by a WhamShot as the EnhanceButton shows a clear picture of it:
239	--->'''HAL:''' They are identical in size and shape [[spoiler: to the object you call the Monolith.]]
240	** Not long after:
241	--->'''Curnow:''' It's ''shrinking''! ''IT'S SHRINKING!''
242	** In the novel:
243	--->'''Professor Chang:''' THERE IS LIFE ON EUROPA. I repeat: THERE IS LIFE ON EUROPA.
244	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Played for enormous tension in the sequence where Dr. Chandra is asked to convince HAL to use ''Discovery'' as a booster to allow the ''Leonov'' to escape. Floyd and Curnow want to trick HAL into compliance and disconnect him if he resists, while Chandra insists on telling him the whole truth.
245	--> '''Chandra:''' Whether our minds are made of carbon or silicon, we should be treated with the same basic respect!
246	* {{Zeerust}}: The second manned mission to Jupiter is launched in time to make it by 2010. All computer monitors are bulky [=CRTs=], many of which are built into even bulkier plastic enclosures (like the ones in the VLA control room and Chandra's office). Floyd's Apple [=IIc=] still looks sort of futuristic, if you ignore its thickness and its tiny display connected with a ribbon cable.
247	----

Context Film / TwoThousandTenTheYearWeMakeContact