Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly satisfying
Review: One of my favourite ways to spend two and a half hours is to watch this excellent film over and over again. I can't remember any science-fiction film after 2001: A Space Odyssey to be this thought-provoking, and while Contact is not quite as profound a statement as the aforementioned opus, it still has quite a lot to say for itself. Jodie Foster plays an earnest scientist who spends her whole life searching for extra-terrestrial life and finds vindication when a message is received from outer space. Naturally, it throws the world into a huge frenzy, and despite the efforts of kitschy bad guy Tom Skerritt and military operations-head James Woods, she gets to go on a journey to the heart of the universe and see whether or not she can find the answers she's looking for. Perhaps it's a little hokey, but I found myself totally captivated throughout the whole film, and the adventure Foster goes through in the last third of the picture is one of the most thrilling sequences in the films of 1997 (not the least because Foster, surrounded by all these new worlds she's viewing, can act the scene to pieces, which is amazing considering the fact that we know she really sat in front of a blue-screen for two weeks). Truly moving.
Rating: 
Summary: Pacman2524
Review: I'd give it no stars if I could. I saw this movie in Denver when it first came out. Ruined my vacation. Just had to come here today and rip on it a bit. My least fav. movie of all time next to Disney's "Hercules." Jodie Foster simply cannot act and has no looks. Matt M. did pretty good and Tom Skerritt also preformed very well. Story is very lame and ending was even worse. I thought this show would never get over. Then when it did end, I had to wait for the credits to make sure, and left thinking "that's it." I was thankful it was over, but thought that "the projection worker had to of fast-forwarded it to help me out." Graphics were pretty good, but I wouldn't pay to see them again. I wish I could get my money back from the theater and forget I ever saw it.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant. My all-time favorite sci-fi film.
Review: It's exhilarating to watch a film like Contact. It's a awe-inspiring, excitingly told tale of a woman and her dreams to discover life beyond Earth. After a beautiful opening shot, the film unfolds slowly but with great care. This is one of those sci-fi films I watch on a regular basis, like the vastly underrated Mission to Mars, as they both involve the discovery of something beyond belief.With all the previews and commericals, it's obvious Jodie Foster's character, Ellie Arroway, will make the trip around the galaxy in the spacecraft. This really doesn't happen until about 110 minutes into the film (it runs at approximately 150 minutes), yet it never, not even for a second, tested my patience. Everything leading up to that moment was perfect, all the way from the intriguing and original plot (for once, we should go to the aliens, not the other way around), the great acting and character development, and the breathtaking visuals, particularly in the final half hour. Contact is pure magic; it's the kind of film one always hopes for: an intelligent, thought-provoking, and still feel good film. Definitely a must see to anybody with even a casual interest in this genre.
Rating:
Summary: The best movie about ET contact
Review: I have read many books by Carl Sagan and his original TV series (Cosmos) was superb. Although he was a very scientific person and didn't buy the believe of faith, in this movie we see the man behind the mask revealing a story of cosmic proportion. The question to you - the viewer - is, are you ready?
Rating:
Summary: Contact the Studio for your money back...
Review: Bad script, lame acting and over the top directing do not a good movie make. Where did they go wrong? 1. You never really experience the suspention of disbelief which is so critical for the genre. 2. The entire flick takes itself too seriously. 3. The film has a bad "government coverup" angle that looks lifted from an X Files episode. 4. You have noreason to have sympathy for any of the characters. Do yourself a big favor and see Kubrick's 2001, a classic that blows the socks off of this little flick. Even "Close Encounters of Third Kind" while nor being a favorite of mine has more humor and tells a much better story. Back to film school for the cast and crew of "Contact"! They could learn a few things about the genre by watching re-runs of the Twilight Zone, which had some good writing and drama...
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic journey of the mind and spirit.
Review: I saw this film in the theater back to back with Men In Black (what a contrast!). I found Contact to have multiple levels of philosophy mixed in with the wonderful special effects. The balance is excellent. You can "take it at face value" or dig deeper into the meaning of Jodi Foster's journey. Jodi is a fantastic actor, very convincing in her portrayal of steadfast belief in science before and her internal struggle after her trip. The supporting cast was excellent. Was it all a hoax or was it real?? If you let it, it will spark some introspection!
Rating:
Summary: Contact is a moving experience
Review: True to the vision of Carl Sagan, Contact takes viewers on a not-so-fantastic voyage into the not-too-distant future. The movie is about hope, about faith, and about the relentless need for exploration that has driven humanity since we first stood upright. Jodi Foster is superb, and the visual effects stir the soul. Contact will inspire the inveterate explorer in all of us.
Rating: 
Summary: A great film, but sells the audience short
Review: How many films do you see that compel you to debate its meaning for hours afterwards? "Contact" moves me emotionally, spiritually and intellectually every time I see it. On the surface, the story is an exciting tale of alien contact and the wonderous vastness of space. A visually intense film, it is complemented by a passionate performance by Jodie Foster, and despite those who don't hold McConaughey's acting ability highly, Matthew delivers powerfully. To me, the film brings a compelling comparison of science and religion, emphasizing the importance of faith for both ambitions. Others feel the film contrasts science and religion, with the former based on probabilities and the latter on faith. Whatever you take from this film, it is guaranteed to occupy your thoughts well after the credits roll. I would have given this film 5 stars except for one unneccesary and detracting scene. I will try not to reveal too much in detail, but the hackneyed inclusion of government conspiracy downplays, or rather eliminates, the audiences' need to share the same "faith" as Palmer (McConaughey) and the population (in the movie). This scene continues to irritate me and I believe sells us, the audience, short in our ability to handle an inconclusive ending. Despite this distraction, I still hold this film as one of my favorites.
Rating: 
Summary: good suspense but too long
Review: I really enjoyed this film. Despite a slow start, the middle and the end of the film are GREAT. The audio commentary is very interesting, never boring. I expected many more "Extra Features". The film is superbe on large screen of projector.
Rating:
Summary: ¿If it¿s just us, it seems like an awful waste of space¿
Review: The contact frequency is pi times hydrogen, and the first transmission is the prime numbers 2, 3, 5, 7.... This is what WE would transmit and do transmit because such signals cannot be mistaken for natural phenomena. It's obvious that what we have here is intelligent science fiction. The general public may be surprised to learn-I know I was-that a significant segment of the scientific community considers the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) a pie in the sky waste of money and human energy. The prejudice is so great that until recently no self-respecting astrophysicist would dare specialize in it for fear of having no career. Well, there are a few brave souls. This is a movie about one of them. I didn't read the book-shame on me, but works of fiction by scientists usually make me blush in embarrassment for their authors. But Carl Sagan was no ordinary scientist, nor was he an ordinary writer. Still I suspect that what made this an excellent movie was the script by James V. Hart and Michael Goldenberg. It is extraordinarily well thought out and carefully crafted with deft turns of plot and a satisfying conclusion, with no need for spaghetti code patches near the end, the bane of most sci-fi and action/adventure flicks. It is also emotionally moving. There is, however, just the slightest "written by committee" feel to the movie. Everything is a little too neat and too well explained. It's a paradox of any art form that sometimes you can polish too much, you can overwrite and lose some spontaneity in the production. And yes, Palmer Joss (Matthew McConaughey) is a little too good to be true, and Arroway (Jodie Foster) really needs a serious fault or at least some kind of vice to round her out. Being a political innocent isn't enough. And the media and governmental reaction is a little too pat and cynical. However all of that is insignificant compared with the most difficult thing about writing a futuristic or "superior civilization" story, namely coming up some unknown technology or information to make it seem real. The formula for cold fusion would work, or the cure for cancer. But how can you do THAT? You can't (otherwise what you come up with would probably be more important than your script). It is fascinating to see how Sagan, Hart, Goldenberg and Director Robert Zemeckis cleverly sidestep this pitfall. Only those who have tried it can know what a fine job was done here. And incidentally Zemeckis can be given credit for making "Contact" intelligible without any dumbing down, no mean feat in itself. As far as star Jodie Foster goes, it's clear she inhaled and imbibed the persona of the modern woman of science in preparation for this role, so well does she play the part of astrophysicist Ellie Arroway. They have her come out looking androgynous, which is appropriate for two reasons, one, she lost her mother early and had to identify with her father more than most (an explanation, if one were needed, for how she became a scientist); and two, those little green beings aren't going to be men or women, having given up our sort of primitive sexuality long ago. She is never glamorized; even when she dresses up, she still looks like a normal woman in a gown. And she is appropriately unpolitical and naive and far too honest in front of the camera. Best line: "It's so beautiful. They should have sent a poet."
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