User reviews

This, for me, is a masterpiece. I have enjoyed it more with each viewing.

Carl Sagan was a great man. He promoted science in the way it should be, portraying the profound mysteriousness of our universe with humility, and without dogma. In his book, the Demon-Haunted World, he quoted Einstein:

"All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike -- and yet it is the most precious thing we have".

Contact conveys this simple message in a subtle yet immensely powerful way. The performances are some of the most compelling I have seen, particularly by Jodie Foster and David Morse.

Just magnificent.

I had the luck of watching contact at the cinema when it came out . Being young meant that watching a movie of this grandure in a grand movie theatre with massive screen (something that was dying out at the time) means that this movie has been engraved in my mind . But it is not due to nostalgia or corrupt memory . Contact is a thought provoking mind bending movie ahead of its time . In fact it is the Interstellar of the 90s .

Stunning gorgeous visuals , and a storyline and plot asking some hard questions and providing answers that many might not want to accept as the movie battles between science fitction , science fact and religion in a way that in the end no one is left wanting .

This is not just a movie , this is an event !

Although Jodie Foster has won two Oscars in her career I think her best work was done in Contact, a film where the only recognition it received was a nomination for Best Sound. She also never did a more serious film about a more serious topic. Are we in fact the only life there is in this vast universe and how do we find out.

As a scientist, something she wanted to be all her life, Foster is determined to get answers in the best way she knows, build the biggest radio telescope there is and throw out a few signals. Someone out in the great beyond will answer. Foster gets an answer.

What I love about Contact is that the gamut of human reactions to the possibility of life is dealt with in this film. It ranges from the multi-billionaire who wants his own life extended John Hurt, the geopolitician who is interested in power James Woods, the sincerely religious men of faith who want to see how God fits into the scheme of things Matthew McConaughey, and even the religious terrorist who fears that a mountain of man made dogma that he's based his life on will be washed away Jake Busey. Busey's part is extremely relevant, we have way too many of those in the world and strategically placed they can cause catastrophe.

Foster gets a blueprint for a space time travel machine, warp drive the likes of which James T. Kirk only wished he had. It goes horribly wrong the first time, Foster takes it herself for a second try.

Mention should also go to David Morse who plays Foster's father, first in scenes with young Jena Malone who was a science prodigy as a kid and later Foster during her 'journey' gets to talk to Morse again. Was it real or a hallucination. His scenes are the highlight of the film for me.

Contact takes no sides in the end, it simply takes the position that in terms of the universe humankind is taking baby steps. If we are really the only life in the universe it seems like an awful waste of space.

The special effects are fine, the sound was considered Academy worthy. So much more of Contact is, most especially the performances of Jodie Foster and her supporting cast.

In my 61 years, I have seen many science fiction films. Few have exceeded my expectations as this film did. I remember seeing it in a theater (something I rarely trouble myself with these days), and finding myself at times gripping the armrests in excitement. This film builds like great stories should. However, even the best stories can collapse under the weight of a bad script, poor acting, or shoddy editing. I'm happy to say that none of these issues plagued this film. Ms. Foster delivers an extremely powerful performance and is a wonderful role model for women in science. All of the other actors also deliver memorable performances, but make no mistake, it is Ms. Foster's polished performance you will be thinking about when this film ends.

Much has been made of the last 1/4 of this film, with many viewers feeling a let down. I get that. The amazing build up and tension in the third quarter of the film is quite unexpected, but if you approach the final quarter thoughtfully, you'll see that it makes perfect scientific sense. That's rare in any science fiction film pitched to mass audiences. As such, this film makes an amazing contribution to the entire genera.

Reading other peoples' reviews, I see a split 50/50 argument where one side loves the movie and the other hates it. I am not one bit surprised, due to the importance of the film, and I feel this is proof that Contact is one of the most powerful movies of the decade. Like the reaction from the civilians to the machine, a movie with this much heavy firepower is likely to get both loathing and praise from its viewers. I for one praise the film, for its toughness and sensitivity, symbolism and passion, and the fact that it is a rare science fiction film, a gem which was released in a time where scientific intelligence in film has become a nothing short of a joke as the wonder of the universe has been ignored and the mystery of alien life have become a neverending trail of movie villains.

The film of course centers around the science vs. religion theme, the oldest and most frightening of all school debates. Instead of taking the more independent path the book takes, the film takes the more sensitive on the science vs. religion argument throughout the film by telling us that science and religion points to the same direction (the "pursuit of truth") but are misunderstood when studying the nature of their WAY of finding the truth (science uses evidence and answers, religion uses love faith). At the end of it all, the film lets us know that if science and religion stops colliding with each other and starts to combine and compliment each other (listen to Ellie's final words in her testament) the human race might achieve things we can only dream about now.

A perfectly refreshing film, with lots to say, great acting and directing, sound and special effects. Robbed by the Academy.

N.B: This is a very long monologue because I adore CONTACT to bits.

I loved the irony present in Contact, as well as its religious imagery and its attention to fine detail. To see the universe in that opening scene was breath-taking, and the reason for it all coming out of Ellie's eye becomes blissfully apparent in light of the end, for her journey was just as much a physical as well as an emotional and spiritual one. The photography was superb, alternating between expansive sweeps of the landscape and the universe, and close, intimate shots of the characters, symbolising the potential for ‘the unknown' as well as an equally important knowledge of all that is familiar – contact with our own people.

The irony manifested itself in how Ellie, who denounced Palmer's ability to possess complete faith in God, ended up being the advocate of such a faith, though of a different strand; she could now appreciate Palmer's passion. Remember that Biblical verse that when paraphrased reads something like: `The man who is not willing to give up his life will lose it, but he who is willing will gain it'? This religious imagery correlates to how Drumlin lost his life in pursuit of personal acclaim, while Ellie, who admitted that she would freely give up her life in pursuit of life's tormenting questions, gained it in such a memorable and satisfying way. She found inner peace, having made contact with two intelligent races; one of the skies, and one of her own kind. The dried up cliché alluding to aliens: `We are not alone' begins to take on a new meaning in a multitude of dimensions in light of this brilliant movie.

I read this wonderful ‘blurb' about Contact, and I think this following line delineates the film, and why watching Contact became such a defining film for me: `[Ellie's] personal voyage will take her beyond theory, beyond knowledge , beyond experience, to the realization that true vision is ultimately the union of fact and faith.' This duality of life and true fulfilment which arises from the reconcilement of contrary beliefs is surely a theme of the film: evinced through the conflict created by science vs. religion, fact vs. faith, vision vs. reality.

Carl Sagan's novel was also a fulfilling pleasure to read. I thought that the message in pi was an absolutely crucial element of the book, the implications of such a message being that there is an all-powerful ‘force' behind the universe, which brings order to disorder, and such a ‘force' we might call God. So possibly, C.S's novel did prove the existence of God. Maybe the recurring ‘C' pattern in the film, (the ‘quadruple' system Ellie saw near Vega, the sands in her father's hands and that which she holds in the end), is indicative of such order – that no matter how large or small an event, i.e, whether a message is written in the sky or in the palm of one's hands, order is present, and implies a powerful force guiding the universe.

I am incapable of seeing many, if any, faults with this film – I truly cannot understand why anyone would think it contrived or the same as something as brain-numbing and gung-ho as `Armageddon'. It is truly an intellectual film with meanings at many levels – and so thought-provoking! Perhaps Matthew McConaughey's representation of Palmer Joss was a little unbelievable, and the thrice-repeated `It's an awful waste of space' phrase that connected Ellie to her father and Ellie to Palmer can be seen as a tad too sentimental on the one hand, but on the other, it serves to punctuate the potentiality of the physical universe, and the human mind, which, in C.S's case, conceived this book. Jodie Foster is magnificent, but then again, isn't she always? The extraordinary passion Ellie exhibited was admirable – her innate sense of wonder balanced by a stabbing loneliness, born out of the premature departure of a dear parent.

I love Contact because of its poignant humanity, the sense of wonder that resonates so strongly throughout the film and indicates the strength of that wonder which inspired C.S in the first place, and because it searches for meaning so idealistically, while still, necessarily, maintaining the sometimes harsh realities of life (personified by James Woods' unsympathetic and skeptical Kitz).

To those who hated the ending, you obviously missed a crucial component of the film, that of possibility and potentiality. To have Ellie return with tangible evidence of alien existence would demolish all the credibility that Robert Zemeckis attempted to create by showing the current American president referring generically to the event of the message being discovered, the decision to build the machine, etc. The ending was crafted in such a way as to enable a choice by the viewer/reader to be made – just like how C.S equally respected those in his book who chose to pursue a path of science or religion. We, the audience, are allowed to decide what really happened, and this makes Contact an almost interactive and therefore a more intimate experience.

Contact has something to say to everyone, and has real meaning that cannot help but whisk viewers and readers alike to some thrilling place. To those who thought the film predictable, and had not previously read the book, I would say that you must be VERY creative if you managed to anticipate all that Contact had to offer. But for everyone who was as much inspired by this magnificent film as I was, here's the most important lesson to be derived from both the book and the film: `For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.' This enlightened message, dreamt up by Carl Sagan, makes me even more convinced that a book critic who said of Carl Sagan: `with terrestrials like him, who needs extras?' is exactly right.

A dedicated astronomer (Jodie Foster) discovers a message sent from a distant planet and manages to decode it's surprising contents.

Excellent sci-fi concept with a strong performance from Foster.

I mostly enjoyed the film. I liked the scientific angle but I thought the religious aspect was too prominent. I also felt that the romance elements did not add much.

I found the later parts disappointing. The film promised so much but ultimately did not fulfil it's potential.

So many movies out there are pure drivel. They use sex, or shock, or sex to sell two hours of something that in no way contributes to our existence; be it inspiration, knowledge or spiritual awakening.

Contact is an exceptional example of a movie that DESERVES to exist. From the spectactular beginning shot that shows us just how small we are in a world that once thought the universe was made for, and around, mankind; to its realistic conclusion that any X-Phile would expect to happen: this movie appeals to our humanity, intelligence and sense of adventure.

One of the greatest realisations that the movie will guide you to is that what we search for in outer space is actually in our own backyards. We are cut off from each other and sci-fi tries to quell our loneliness with ideas that we'll meet E.T. and wont feel so lonely in our existence. But were AREN'T alone... we have each other.

I never get tired of watching this movie, though I wish they brought out a packed special edition DVD full of behind the scene effects and the like.

"Contact" is an interesting film, which primarily isn't about whether we're alone in space or not. Mostly it seems to examine and contrast three distinct types of personalities: the idealist scientist (Eleanor Arroway), the religious believer (Palmer Joss) and the logical strategist/ manipulator (David Drumlin or Michael Kitz). The film bridges the first two types (in the end Arroway's motivation is driven purely by faith, while Joss' faith reaches beyond religion), while the third type is the one that's really in control of mankind's destiny (the manipulative Drumlin gets the mission initially, while the cold logic of Kitz and co demands they cover up what really happened).

Philosophically-wise, the film goes for a kind of expanding and "exterior" way of thinking. When Arroway meets the aliens (mind, in the guise of her dead father) they reveal that there are many civilizations in the universe etc but that mankind (in their own words capable of beautiful dreams and horrible nightmares, and always feeling void and alone) must find it's own way and in "slow moves". Also, they reveal that "the only thing that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other".

The film is rather tame and fairly predictable in it's stand. When Arroway meets the aliens, she could be talking to God. Returning to Earth without any solid proof, she doesn't convince about what was essentially a religious experience. The film exhibits this bridging of science and religion with ridiculous amounts of melodrama, in the usual slow-motion emotional-exploitation sequences and mellifluous strings. Standing as some sort of middle-ground between "2001, A Space Odyssey" (man reaching for the outwards) and "Solaris" (man delving in the inwards), the problem is that director Robert Zemeckis is neither a Stanley Kubrick nor an Andrey Tarkovsky.

The 90's movies have a certain charm you can not replicate. It makes you belive in better things, makes you want to be better. I liket this movie because it focused on mankind, and not just America. Do not take me wrong. I dont have any problem with America, but there are a lot of things you have to consider besides that nation. I liked the how it made me think about the everlasting parallel between belief and technology. It gives you the right to choose, what you want to belive in. That is a very nice thing nowadays.

So, 26 minutes in she's already slept with a Jim Morrison looking vicar, had her facile back-story explained with sledgehammer flashbacks involving herself as a Cute Kid(TM), and now the cartoon villain has taken away her funding and is probably about to tie her to a railway track... It began to seem unlikely that I would finish this cloying, formulaic, cinematic fart, but perseverance did pay off.

There are some interesting ideas at work, and an unusually strong emphasis on science, albeit blurred at times by a clumsy attempt to lever religion into the argument.

If you can overlook the many clichés, 1-dimensional characters and the some of the miserably cringe-inducing moments in the script, it's actually quite enjoyable. But it will never be a classic of any genre, least of all Science Fiction.

Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) starts work for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. Her mother died in childbirth and her dad died when she was a child. Kent (William Fichtner) is a blind researcher. Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) is a religious writer who becomes her romantic partner. David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt) is the bottom-line head at the observatory who shuts her down. Four years later, she is still the outcast as funding and facilities dry up. Then she finds an extraterrestrial signal. Drumlin and NSA adviser Michael Kitz (James Woods) take over. Hadden (John Hurt) is an eccentric tycoon who has been supporting her.

It's a brainier science fiction. The first half is exciting in the non-action way. It is smart. It tries to add in some action but it is unable to transition. It may be better not to transition. Also Robert Zemeckis overdoes the space travel and the other world. The religious debate takes up too much space and gets a bit clunky. The logic of hiding such a massive construction is highly questionable. The first half rivals any of the best sci-fi and the second half isn't bad either.

When I first heard that Contact - by Carl Sagan was made into a film I was very excited. The book is good in its own way - a little artificial but that is to be expected when a scientist turns to fiction.

One recurring theme in the book is the search for the truth and the search for the numinous experience (the religious). This theme is very much present in the movie. In the book Ellie is an agnostic, a sceptic both as a scientist and in her spiritual life. In the movie she is made a logical positivist. Well this is to be expected since you have to be explicit when making movies.

But in the movie Ellie has to accept the fact that her only way of justifying what she knows to be the truth is by a leap of faith, thus making traditional religion the "winner" of the debate, the book explicitly says that Ellie finds concrete proof of her version of the truth, thus all but eliminating the element of faith.

The movie thus ends with the opposite conclusion of the book.

When the book was about the search for truth, the possibility of extra terrestrial life, and the inherent beauty of life. The movie pretty much boils it down to being an preaching on the gospel of organised religion.

I didn't like it because I've read the book. But as a film it didn't work to well either. Rent this, to see on a rainy day, but be warned its just a 4/10

All of the greatest work by the greatest scientists has been done while they were very young, when they were stupid enough to believe that two-plus-two-equals-five, and pursued it instead of listening to all of those who were much older and wiser who said Don't Waste Your Time. Einstein, it has been said, asked all of his important questions before the age of twenty-five, then spent the rest of his life working on them. `Contact,' directed by Robert Zemeckis, is the story of a young scientist, Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster), who like Einstein and all the greats before her, has been asking questions and seeking answers since she was very young. And now, as a member of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) team, she is able to pursue her obsession with the mysteries of the galaxies and the infinite universe that surrounds us. Her job is to sweep the skies, using the most sophisticated equipment available, for a signal from deepest space. It may be her job, but for Ellie it's a labor of love, for she is convinced that there is something, or someone, out there somewhere, because otherwise, she reasons, what a terrible waste of space it would be. Ellie may be a dreamer, but she knows in her heart that it is the dreamers who over the years have been responsible for making us evolve, making us learn and grow because they are the ones who take insane, foolish ideas and pursue them. And to her, two-plus-two will always be five.

Ellie loves her job and believes in what she is doing, but it's been a struggle over the years, as she and others have had to constantly fight for the funding necessary to keep the project alive, begging for dollars from short-sighted, unimaginative people with vision that goes only as far as the bottom line of their budget book. It's been a tough row to hoe, and she's had to swallow a lot of pride over the years, but then one day it all pays off, when in one magic moment she hears what she's been waiting for all her life: A signal from a distant end of the galaxy-- someone attempting to communicate, to make contact, with the people of the Earth.

Ellie and her team soon realize that, whomever it is, they are using the universal language of prime numbers in their attempts at making contact; and when Ellie deciphers the code, she discovers something monumental in the bargain. But it's a message of global importance, something much bigger than she and her team alone, and she soon find herself fighting to remain a part of the drama that is only beginning to unfold-- the first interaction between human beings and an alien life form. And it's only the beginning of the adventure and the wondrous places this film is about to take you.

Jodie Foster gives a performance here that demonstrates what a gifted, talented actor she is. Her Ellie is convincing and believable, and someone to whom you can genuinely relate, no matter who you are or where you're from, because there is something universal in Ellie's passion and longing to discover the truth and to see beyond the veil of our limited mortal capacities. There's a strength to Ellie, born of a combination of intelligence and innocence, as well as tenacity and faith, and Foster manifests all of these complexities of her character beautifully, with a performance that should've landed her an Oscar nomination. In this role, she is simply as good as it gets.

As the young Ellie, Jenna Malone gives a terrific performance, also, which certainly captures the same spirit that we find in the adult Ellie. And there's a maturity she brings to the character that far exceeds her years. She was a perfect choice for the part, and if this is any indication of what she is capable of, Malone has a successful career ahead of her.

The supporting cast includes David Morse (Ted Arroway), Matthew McConaughey (Palmer), Geoffrey Blake (Fisher), William Fichtner (Kent), Tom Skerritt (David), James Woods (Kitz) and Angela Bassett (Rachel). Zemeckis did a brilliant job of bringing this film to fruition, especially in the way he allowed Foster the time to really develop her character, by giving her that extra moment at just the right time that ultimately meant so much in the final analysis. Too often it's those few minutes that wind up on the cutting room floor that make the difference between a good film and an exceptional one; and between Zemeckis and Foster, they took it to the edge by taking some chances to realize that combined vision, which in the end made this a great film. Thoroughly engrossing and entertaining, `Contact' will transport you to places you can only imagine, and it's all done with style and in a way that makes this a truly memorable cinematic journey. It's what the magic of the movies is all about. I rate this one 10/10.

This remains true for this very good adaptation of the classic book by Carl Sagan. Sagans' idea was to make science and the elite commandeering of information available to the majority, he wrote his books for a wide audience and I think the film shows this as was intended by its author.

The Film is roughly about Dr Arroway, Ellie, and how she handles being alone in a world without family or close friends. It is metaphorically able to make us all think about how isolated we as a race, and as people can feel.

Ellie, a brilliant young scientist working on the mistrusted SETI program discovers a message sent to earth from distant star system Vega. On its discovery Ellie must battle with the Military, Pentagon, and Male Dominated scientific world to keep her cards on the table and her discovery that of her team. Ellie is constantly kept in the game by he benefactor, a rich technological industrialist mogul who has a vested interest in her participation of the programme to reach this alien culture.

I don't wish to go on any further and spoil this movie as I rate it as a fantastic exploration of Science Vs Religion and the entire subsequent human spectrum in between. As a film there were several alterations from the book that I felt could have been included, for example not just one traveler but a range of them, philosophers, theologists, scientists, poets and Dr Arroway.

I have watched this film a number of times and still find it a joy to watch the fifth, eighth and tenth time. Jody foster playing a not so dissimilar to her role in Silence of the lambs (attractive, clever, young, successful woman battling in a male world) is exceptional and delivers feeling and intellect alongside an impressive script.

I would give this film an 8.5 and recommend it to anybody, but if you are a sci-fi fan and haven't seen this film then you're in for a treat.

I have watched "Contact" at least 10x's throughout my life, it came out when I was 12yrs and we saw it in the theater. I was blown away by it then, and I still am blown away by it now, and I love the build up to the last 40 minutes, it is exhilarating. The only thing I felt was a weak point in the film, was Matthew Mcconaughey. I did not feel it necessary to the story, and in some ways, bogged it down, and I felt that way even the first time I saw it, this is not to say he is not enjoyable, he is, and I still enjoy the parts with him, but I did find his character to not be totally necessary to the story. Despite that one minor flaw, it still remains to this day one of my all time favorite films.

I don't think this is a perfect film, and I do not believe there is such a thing, but I do believe that overall, it is pretty darn close, this is a film that deeply explores the divide between science and religion, and I feel, shows both sides very well. This is a long film, clocking in at over 2.5hrs, but I have never been bored watching this film. Every time I watch this film, I feel the same, I always get this awe of sense and wonder about the cosmos, in fact, it is what made me want to study cosmology (which I still want to) and explore the galaxy.

I also felt this was a movie about discovery and risk and not letting people stop you from doing what you are supposed to do. I love the discoveries and mysteries of this film, and I have felt the way this film reveals itself is astonishing. Mystery and Horror film makers could take a few cues from this film about twists and surprises. This is a film that provokes discussion, which is what every great sci-fi film or story should do, it doesn't have to be totally accurate or right, but it should always cause you to think and question, and this film absolutely does on many levels.

I have noticed that the vast majority of the negative reviews on here are by people who hated the fact that this movie, at it's core, is about faith, not necessarily faith in God, but faith in general. People who seem to be atheist, I don't see these things as incompatible, you cannot prove Darwinian Evolution, and yet, many believe in it. We believe a great deal about the Universe, which often get's unproven months later or years later, that in itself takes faith. We cannot see a great deal many things, and yet see the effects of them, and thus believe in them. This is really what this film is about. I don't believe this film should rattle your feathers just because you do not believe a god exist, I enjoy movies that "disprove" God, and yet, I am a believer. It should not take away from a film's enjoyment per se, especially one as well made as this one.

I never saw Ellie's lack of evidence as her admitting that religion needs to exist. That is silly. I also find it silly that some people think that the arguments over God or not God, invalidate this film, or that it shoves things down your throat. I loved the struggle, and the fact that she didn't back down from the people who were discriminating against her because she didn't believe what most people do, was very encouraging. As already stated, I am a believer, and yet, I never once got mad at her insistence that God didn't exist. Why? Because other people's opinions do not change my view point, and it blows my mind how some people can be rattled like this by a movie, that in my mind, seemed to play both sides of the fence pretty well. I don't believe the conclusion at all says one way or the other on the topic, other than there are things we cannot explain all the time.

God Bless ~Amy

This movie examines the premise of what would actually happen if we were to make first contact with aliens, and how that contact would logically happen.

The protagonist is loosely based on an actual astronomer named Jill Tartar. She is focused on finding other life almost to the exclusion of all else in her life. When aliens respond to the Earth's first interstellar broadcast, she is caught up in the hysteria.

What follows is an interesting observation of humanity rather than any aliens. We learn very little about aliens throughout the movie. Rather, we see how people react to knowledge of this magnitude. The movie examines religious, scientific, military and international reactions to the idea of humanity not being alone. I thought they did a fantastic job of representing the scale of reaction, from the fanatic to the skeptic, within the confines of a 2 hour movie. The movie mixes a thoughtful, sentimental tone with a good pace for action and excellent characterization. There is a somewhat arbitrary love story thrown in, but it is tolerable based on how it helps the protagonist's long-delayed progress towards a deeper understanding of her own humanity.

The movie ends in a poignant yet hopeful tone, understanding our human problems but accepting them. I think the message is that the alien contact is the catalyst that will help humanity mature and grow past our more dark halves.

If you like the movie I'd recommend the book. It gives much more insight on the aliens, and expands the scope as there are a number of scientists that participate rather than just one from America, and goes more in depth into the science. It also attempts to show that religion and science can get along. My favorite part is at the very end of the book where Sagan shows how God hid a message in the very fabric of the cosmos, that we could only read when we were ready. Be prepared however, the book is quite a bit drier than the movie and those who don't enjoy reading Discover magazine may have to dig in to get through the slower, more scientific parts.

I am used to hearing from just about everyone who has read a book that was made into a movie that the book is always better. I tend to agree with this opinion. Contact, however, shows that in the arts the norm is not always the truth; opinion, no matter how often it is backed up with evidence, can never break through the barrier into be a hardened and absolute truth.

I saw this movie first before I read the book. That is partly because I didn't know that there was the book until after the movie. So, a year or so after the viewing, I got the book. Of course, the movie, in general terms, follows the book fairly well. I have to say, the movie can easily stand on its own merits just as the book can also.

The immediate impression of the film after the book is that there is a great emphasis on faith, proof, truth and opinion. These themes are not much brought up in the book - at least not with the same impact nor in the same way as in the film. Of course, the field of Astrophysics, of which Carl Sagan was a practitioner, lends itself very easily to ultimate questions such as God, faith, truth etc. The vastness of space and complexity of reality, viewed through the scrutiny of the scientific eye, is mind-boggling. As was repeated in the movie several times: "if we're all that there is, "its an awful waste of space." Personally, I think that the book relates these notions of vastness and complexity much better than the movie. But, the audience of the book was certainly not necessarily the same audience as the movie.

To be more fair, the vastness which was expressed in the book was demonstrated to an equal degree, but differed in quality, by the "aloneness" of Dr. Arroway as she scuttles across the universe. In the book, Dr. Arroway is not alone but go with a team of scientists, all of whom make their appearance in the movie. There is much more detail given in the book of the trip through the device than in the movie. In fact, there are very deliberate omissions made which eliminate the technological bent of the book. Yet, the focus of the movie does not allow the movie to be diminished by these omissions in the same way that the book would unavoidably be lacking without those details.

One final aspect of the movie which is relevant with respect to the book is time. Of course, in physics, time has its leading role so it must make at least a cameo in a movie which relies on physics. Astrophysics is tied inextricably to relativity which is likewise tied to time. The timelessness of the device design sent via radio signals and the instantaneous trip Dr. Arroway seemed to put relativity into perfect perspective. The book takes a slightly different view by using distance and the experience of each traveler of moving fast distances with no other apparent sensations of motion. It all adds up to different but equal expressions of the science which Carl Sagan had mastered.

Both the book and the movie are simply fantastic, one not outshining the other as regards their scope and vision. Watch the film, it is a beautiful one. Read the book, it is equally beautiful.

Ever watch a sparkler put on a fantastic show for 10 seconds only to see it fizzle away into an unimpressive glowing cinder on a charred metal stick for another 10 seconds? Yeah, that's Contact. That's the review, right there. There's not really anything else to say. I don't need to get into the details because that's all there is to say, really. Save for this next part:

On the subject of religion: This movie is 12 years old so it may have been more commonplace at the time; but even for the 90's it seemed like it put too much emphasis on it. The whole "religion and science can co-exist" theme the movie had going is entirely unrealistic and only serves to confuse the general public into thinking that reality is this great unknown where no one can tell whether Science or Religion is right. Religion and Science can't co-exist, because they directly contradict each other. The message this movie was unnecessary, and essentially ruined it for me.

And I believe Mr. Garrisson's opinion of the last bit of Contact says it best. I'll leave you to figure out what he said, I don't much care for spoiling it.

My only regret about CONTACT is that I didn't see it in a theater.

This movie works on so many levels. It is a fabulously balanced concoction of thrills, suspense, action, politics, acting & characterization, awe, and...(ahem)...INTELLIGENCE! (And not just the alien kind!)

Some have compared this movie to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY...with, perhaps, some justification. There certainly are more than just passing similarities. However, whereas 2001 relied on hardware to (almost) the exclusion of all else and placed a greater emphasis on "spectacle", CONTACT strives for more substance on the human and sociological level. It touches one's emotions in a way that most movies never attempt to, much less succeed. In this, CONTACT could just as well be compared to Steven Spielberg's masterpiece, E.T. But whereas E.T. was meant to wake up the "child" in us, CONTACT succeeds in waking us to the next level! This most definitely is THE movie for BRAINIACS!

I rate CONTACT a STRONG 8 out of 10.

Contact is loaded with scenes of a heroine, an astronomer played by Jodi Foster, fighting against great odds for the "truth" that some alien civilization is just itching to communicate with us. Foster's character is so perfect, she is revered like a priestess. There is little else in Contact that is explored in depth much beyond this holy quest of the Foster character.

Besides being too perfect, I say the Foster character is holy because the rest of the world in this film is filled with spiteful, small minded and just weird people. Rival scientists lack vision. Government officials are penny pinching liars who go from disbelief to let's nuke the aliens. Religious leaders want to suppress the truth. And the general public? The public at large are portrayed as a mass of howling primates who blindly flock from one big event to another. In this mass of humanity religious followers from New Age to traditional get to be trashed in broad strokes as mindless fools singing and dancing in some trance. Finally, Contact claims there are super rich folks living in airplanes flying around the world or in outer space just waiting to meet alien species.

With all of these extreme stereotyped characters and the circus atmosphere, I am reminded of a satire such as Mars Attacks or a tongue in cheek sci-fi disaster yarn like Independence Day. But Contact wants to be taken seriously. This is Carl Sagan's story after all.

Well, the film briefly tries to create a meaningful relationship for Foster with the character played by Matthew MacConaughey. But soon MacConaughey's role also becomes paper thin as he becomes the comforter to the persecuted Jodi who is like Joan of Arc on trial.

All of this would be forgivable if there was a serious consideration of what our involvement with an alien species would mean. Excellent films that deal with this topic include 2001 and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Here is where Contact falls flat. In an overly explained series of scenes mirroring 2001 Foster sort of meets an alien then quickly returns to earth. Foster's experience is like a dream. Who are the aliens and what would contact with them mean to us? The movie doesn't go there. There is a vacuum of ideas here as empty as space. The story simply goes back to Foster being the persecuted noble scientist.

Out of all of this, the final message of Contact is that fundamental scientific research, that has little immediate practical value, requires faith. It is like a religious philosophy in a way with one difference being that we are supposed to fund it with tax dollars. Considering all of this, there is very little I can say in praise of the movie besides that Foster's acting is good as always and that technically the film is well made.

The whole movie felt like a fund drive on public television, "give money to the poor scientists". If Contact is one big ad for astronomy research at least make alien contact more interesting. And finally, to create a noble character you do not have to belittle the rest of the world.

I had a chance to re-watch Contact today. I saw it originally when it was in the theaters, and I must say - I have VERY BAD memories of the movie.

Which is strange - because if you know me, you know that I just love Science Fiction. I have a weak spot a mile wide. I can ignore massive plot flaws and bad acting, for just a taste of what mankind might become in the future, or what he might see in the future.

And I admit, when I started watching, I was again captivated. A movie about first contact, and about human travel among the galaxies, and the massive complex machine that would take them there. I will tell you - the machine itself is a marvel. It was an amazing effect. The science, at least early on in this movie, is fine. Not amazing, but better than Hollywood's average.

But throughout the whole movie, the intertwining of religion and science are clumsily handled. Ridiculous soliloquies are given by the religious right, and equally clumsy rebuttals by the scientists. Which all led in the end, to Science being forced to admit to Faith, in front of the US Congress no less. It was a shameful end. A movie I could well have rated as a 7 entirely demolished in the last 5 minutes of the movie.

What a waste :(