Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece traces an expedition to the moon, Jupiter and beyond, and imagines the future evolution of humanity. A group of ape-like creatures - primitive humans - discover the use of bones as weapons in a quarrel over a waterhole. Jump forward 1000s of years, and an American expedition finds a mysterious black monolith--an obvious alien artifact--on the Moon. Another expedition is sent to Jupiter, where a second monolith has been discovered. But during the journey the ship's computer, HAL 9000, develops paranoia.