2001 offers, if nothing else, a pattern. I’m not saying this pattern explains the film itself – to say nothing of the mysteries of the universe – but it does suggest that there is more going on here than the seemingly separate set pieces that have made the movie the stuff of legend (the bone toss, “Open the pod bay door HAL,” that climactic, candy-colored light show). 2001 is a masterpiece beyond its technical mastery and formal ingenuity. This is a movie that reaches for the stars and finds itself, against all odds, on the other side of them.

Full review here.