ghoulkid,

No matter how slow 2001 may be, or how many FX shots there are, I think Kubrick's goal was to make us feel we were present in a future that COULD be.

Lucas was making a fantasy, and combined his love for auto racing and the sounds involved with spaceships doing things and making sounds that defy known physics.

For me, while I have watched Lucas's movies countless times, 2001 is more thrilling on a certain level because it represents something closer to reality while still being fantastic, which is why the 'trip' is so powerful--we've been in this believable environment for so long that plunging us into a SURREAL one us almost overwhelming. It's like the part of us that's swallowed Kubrick's space imagery as 'almost reality' is now swallowing THIS stuff in the same way. At least, that's my take on it.