I've always loved 2001 since I saw it as a kid on opening night. I was just a little guy, but I couldn't get enough space stuff, so my dad took me to 2001. He and I were both so excited about the experience it gave us of our future in space even though neither of us had any idea what the movie was actually about.

And that's a legitimate problem for many people. I have lots of friends (and family) who find it unbearable. Even today, my dad and I will watch it together, but everyone else will leave. "BOOORING!"

(I read the book as a kid so I could figure out what was going on and explain it to my dad. No one else wanted to know.)

I think it could have given me all the things I loved about it AND been less artsy about lack of explanation, but I wouldn't have wanted to spend less time enthralled by a slow, graceful docking maneuver or observing daily life on the centrifugal deck, or witnessing the full interaction between HAL and Dave. Lots of people get very bored by these and want to see more forward movement in the plot, more action, but I just sit there fascinated. (Less so today, but that's only because the content is now somewhat dated, and I'd rather watch an updated equivalent.)

I suspect the kind of movie that appeals to people like me may not get made again.