Rating: 
Summary: Loyal Adaptation
Review: Though not a perfect adaptation of Sagan's book, this is fairly loyal and ends with an effect similar to the novel.The cast is definitely on top of things. Jodie Foster makes an impeccable Ellie Arroway, Matthew McConaugheh an effective, if somewhat youthful Palmer Joss, a reverend and Ellie's intellectual equal; Ken Der Heer's role is significantly downsized, but for his part he does well; Tom Skerrit is a perfectly pompous Dave Drumlin; James Woods a properly militaristic Michael Kitz; and, perhaps in the film's best performance (though he certainly did not have as much work as Foster or McConaugheh), John Hurt is a KNOCKOUT as S.R. Hadden. Oh yeah, and Rob Lowe has a nice role as the Reverend Billy Joe Rankin. The technical aspects are definitely all there; the opening shot is beautifully done, and the special effects are stunning throughout. Though at first I thought the idea of Ellie and Palmer getting together would ruin it, I found it did not have much ill effect. I like also how they chose not to dwell on the hypocrisies of Mr. Rankin. What is missing, and I think fans of the novel will agree, are Ellie's traveling partners, particularly Vaygay. C'mon, Zemeckis, you should know by now that any movie of this sort needs a smart alecky Russian to carry it in the slow spots. Still, the thought provoking story remains intact, and the film was dedicated to Sagan, whom I'm sure would have been pleased with the outcome. Well Done.
Rating:
Summary: Worth Watching for Jodie Foster's Performance
Review: This movie is full of stock and stereotyped characters, strutting around using hackneyed expressions ad naseum. And, if that weren't enough, it's rich in political correctness and diversity indoctrination. However, the concept surrounding the "contact" is interesting and the portrayal of the journey is absolutely first rate. Jodie Foster's portrayal of the journey and arrival at destination is very moving. These final moments are worth enduring the above problems (with a little fast forwarding).
Rating: 
Summary: One of those that makes you think
Review: This movie is really slow to begin with and you wonder why you've been watching for so long. The payoff comes fast and furious as a transmission from outer space quickly transforms the quirky character played by Jodie Foster into a world renowned scientist. I don't know who plays the eccentric billionaire, but he steals the show. James Woods is a very formidable antagonist and will not give in throughout this movie. He has national security in mind and does not budge on any of his stances through the movie. You really begin to hate Tom Skerrit's character until he gets his final desserts.
Carl Sagan is a famous atheist, but this movie, which has been adapted from his book of the same name, is strangely a search for faith and a god we can all relate to. Ironic, huh?
Rating:
Summary: watch it just for william fichtner
Review: the movie's great... it's only downfalls i would say were that it was a bit lengthy and that matthew's character could have been more dynamic... but you should watch it just to see william fichtner as kent clark, the blind guy! he's an awesome actor and this was the part that really seemed to get him noticed. yeah... i like him a bit.
Rating:
Summary: This one grew on me.
Review: I like jody foster and Scifi, and Robert Zemeckis gave us the movie USED CARS, one of my favorites. I should have like this movie, but when I first saw it the ending left me cold and shaking my head. After seeing it again, what I really liked is not the somewhat silly scifi part of the plot but rather the relationship between Jodie F and Mathew M and the nature of believing in something that you can't prove... like proving that your dad loved you or proving that god exists. It is our beliefs in this that can not be proven that makes us human. The story about the puzzle and the trip to another planet was just background for the rest of it, and that is why I have seen this movie several times and enjoy it more with each viewing.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant and profound motion picture event
Review: I really wasn't sure that Carl Sagan's novel would translate very well to the big screen; after all, Sagan and his book were grounded in science, some of the most hardware-intensive scenes were left rather vague in the novel, and Sagan's atheism threatened to somehow taint the story's interplay of science and religion. This movie, though, despite the fact that it necessarily differs from Sagan's novel at times, works amazingly well, even resurrecting a powerful ending under conditions that could be criticized by some in the two words "nothing happens." Indeed, something amazing does happen, and even if it had not, one theme that I read into this story is that the journey is often more important than the destination. This motion picture is (pardon the pun) stellar in so many ways, reflecting a rare level of commitment on the part of everyone involved. This really starts with the cast. The role of Dr. Ellie Arroway was a crucial one that, in the hands of the wrong actress, could have doomed the whole project. Any concerns along these lines, though, were dispensed with immediately upon the signing of Jodie Foster, the greatest female actress of this generation. Matthew McConaughey gives a better than average performance as Palmer Joss (the religious guy), Tom Skerritt is as unlikable as always in his role as the President's Science Advisor and frequent Arroway nemesis, and the rest of the cast excels as well. The injection of then-President Clinton and a number of CNN journalists into a number of scenes also brings a most welcome feel of reality to the profound events taking place here. The special effects are just wonderful. The opening scene is as beautiful and memorable as any scene you will find anywhere, the animation of the giant machine is extremely realistic, and the visual aspects of space travel are also a sight to behold. Not only do these great scenes delight the eyes, they remain true to the nuts and bolts of science that Sagan wanted in the movie. This movie may be long by some standards, coming in at almost two and a half hours, but there's not one wasted scene. The story is, in a sense, not all that complicated. Ellie Arroway (Foster) finally gets a chance to realize her dream of searching for signals from outer space, only to find herself and her project stripped of funding by an unimaginative (or possibly secretive) government. She and her colleagues refuse to let the dream die, and on one remarkable day they pick up a signal. Once the signal is verified and word gets out, the public begins to wig out in a number of ways (quite overblown, in my opinion) and the government, specifically the military, swoops in to get their hands on the project. Ironically, yet very plausibly, part of the signal ends up showing a clip of Hitler opening the Munich Olympic Games (which was the first television signal broadcast over a sizable area). Arroway manages to persevere in her work, and eventually a message is discerned among the data, yielding blueprints for some type of great machine. After plenty of government haggling, the machine is built, and one person is chosen to travel in what the scientists now come to believe is some type of interstellar craft. The movie does not end here, though, not by a long shot. I find a few aspects about this movie and Sagan's novel interesting on a personal level. Sagan was a long-time exponent of the search for extraterrestrial life, yet at a certain point in his career, he noticeably changed and became one of the most unobjective bulwarks of the movement to discredit any and all UFO sightings and encounters; some have speculated that he became a participant in the official government policy of disinformation and dismissal. I believe he would know better than most how the government would frown upon news as profound as the discovery of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and this movie certainly does show some of the dangers inherent in the military takeover of extraterrestrial projects. I am also somewhat surprised at just how effective the juxtaposition of science and religion is presented here, given Sagan's lifelong atheism. The religious aspect of the film works more in a spiritual than a Biblical sense, yet work it does. There is obviously a lot of Sagan himself in Dr. Arroway, and this story, in both novel and motion picture form, stands as a true testament to one of the most influential scientists of modern times.
Rating:
Summary: Is there alien life out there?
Review: I loved this movie, because it made me think. Jodie Foster is great to watch and Matthew McConaughey does some of his better acting, in my opinion. The true sci/fi buffs seem to not like this movie, but I found it an enjoyable experience. It made my family think and that's a true sign of quality entertainment!
Rating:
Summary: A Question of Faith
Review: Like all good science fiction, the futuristic setting is only glossy packaging to capture our interest while distancing us to the role of specator...the content is about our contemporary world and the issues within it. Based on the late Dr Carl Sagan's book by the same name, "Contact" is an eloquent exposition about the conflict of opinion regarding science and religion. No where is this more evident than in the range of reviews listed here and how the reviewers felt about the movie's message. This is a "deep" movie - meaning it will appeal to those who like to think about their movies, rather than just experience them. If you are hoping for a Heinlein "Starship Troops" action flick, forget it. There is some amazing eye-candy in form of the much touted Earth fly-away in the opening and the psychedelic trip to Vega, (an obvious nod to another "deep" sci-fi film by another accomplished sci-fi author), but on the whole, this is film that will keep you occupied well past its 150-minute run time. Is there reality a conflict between Science and Religion? Or is one a form of the other? Can anyone really claim to be purely scientific or purely religious? Or perhaps these are mutually supporting methodologies where the human race decides what it knows and what it doesn't know, but believes. A review is not meant to answer these question, but viewing the film is certainly going to make you think about them. Jodie Foster was perfectly cast in the role of Dr. Eleanor Arroway, an orphan turned scientist who is about as close to the purely-rational intellectual as a human can get. (Remember, Mr. Spock was only half human.) It was no doubt a risky move for a popular actress to play an atheist protagonist to an almost wholly religious audience, but Ms. Foster, noted for her integrity in choosing roles, delivers a performance that should have earned her an Oscar (or perhaps that was the price?) In all a great movie that I'm pleased to have in my collection and one I'd unconditionally recommend for those deep-thinkers and lovers of hard science fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: Is this what passes for popular entertainment?
Review: This movie symbolizes everything that's bad about pop sci-fi. A deep, meaningful movie that made no real sense, had a plot that DRAGGED, and was filled with countless scientific blunders, unfounded assumptions (evidently you have to be an atheist to be a scientist), and ultimately left the viewer asking the inevitable question "What the hell was that all about?". If you truly like science fiction avoid this movie at all costs.
Rating:
Summary: Why can't they make more like it?
Review: Contact is a work of art, a scientific masterpiece, and an all-around great movie. This is the kind of movie that gives you goosebumps while motivating you to explore your world as well as yourself. Truly amazing. I saw it 13 times in the theatre. I've seen it at least as many in my home. One of my top five all time favorites.
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