...2020; The Year We Make Contact is a sequel with real virtues which are completely hidden in the shadow of the film it follows, 2001. Critics baulked; the last thing they wanted was blunt answers when the original questions were so beautifully posed...

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 19, 2025

Hyams' decision to separate his film from Kubrick`s one plays much more in favor of the very good feelings that the production leaves than it might seem at first glance. [Full Review in Spanish]

| Apr 28, 2020

Hyams directed, produced, scripted, even supervised photography, but his dossier is not that of a masterbuilder. He's a sturdy craftsman who gets all the gears moving in tight rhythm. His film is impressive but not elating.

| Jul 19, 2019

A fairly ill-advised sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey...

| Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 23, 2017

Flash: There is intelligent life in outer space. More, anyway, than in this amiable footnote of a movie.

| Aug 3, 2011

It has all the right plot elements, dramatic tension, and eye-popping special effects. The performances are uniformly good, the space-adventure scenes are excitingly handled, and the reappearance of HAL 9000 and Dullea is downright eerie.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Aug 3, 2011

It can't hope to compete with Kubrick, but if you can distance Peter Hyams's picture from its formidable forerunner, you'll find a thoughtful and sometimes unforgettable science-fiction fable.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 3, 2011

A much slicker, studio-friendly job than the first one was, with its much more famous cast, and its easier aesthetic.

| Original Score: 5/10 | Jan 4, 2010

What is 2010 but a conservative Cold War "message" flick.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Jun 9, 2009

...a good, well-made, tightly-knit, nicely-acted science-fiction sequel, yet one that clearly lacks the vision and scope of its illustrious predecessor.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Apr 20, 2009

A hodge-podge of bits and pieces.

| Nov 3, 2008

A wholly thrilling, beautifully shot sequel to a sci-fi classic

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 26, 2008

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 9, 2008

Hyams' sequel to Kubrick's big daddy of sci-fi movies may not have the novelty of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it is still a better film than anyone could have dared to expect.

| Feb 9, 2006

A vastly underappreciated sequel with a fine lead performance by Roy Scheider. Director Peter Hyams took a huge gamble, and succeeds beautifully.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 9, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jun 11, 2005

Scheider does a fine job in an above average film.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 29, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 8, 2005

A good-looking, sharp-edged, entertaining, exciting space opera.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Oct 23, 2004

A lot of care has gone into it, but it has no satirical substructure to match that of the Kubrick film, and which was eventually responsible for that film's continuing popularity.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Aug 30, 2004