It got better when the entered Rama, because until then literally every last shot was from 2001.

Student short film in the form, more or less, of a trailer. Visually impressive, and succeeds in creating a mysterious atmosphere; very much in the mode of "2001."

"Epic short." Inevitably, any film based on the work of Arthur C. Clarke is going to be compared to Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Bearing in mind that this is a short constructed by film students, it is a far cry from that masterpiece -- the narration and various physical details (e.g. gravity at the entrance?) are a bit off, deviating slightly from the book in a way that feels a bit too clichéd -- but it does manage to be enticing. I'd rather see Childhood's End adapted to film, anyhow.