Contact | Jena Malone, David Morse | Carl Sagan would be proud

Contact | Jena Malone, David Morse | Not an action movie... science fiction.

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Contact

	Contact Jena Malone, David Morse Warner Studios, 1997 average customer review:based on 423 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Carl Sagan would be proud

Somebody once said that good science fiction puts an ordinary situation into a futuristic or scientific backdrop. Contact is a prime example of how to make a good drama in a setting of science and exploration. It's as true an adaptation to Carl Sagan's novel as you can get considering what you have to do to make the events of the book fit into a feature film. They certainly don't skimp on the special effects either. The opening scene alone is beautiful in it's expansiveness. 'The Machine' hey build to do the space exploration thing is awesome to behold. They do a great job portraying the massive scale of it.

What really makes Contact a good drama is... well... the drama. You have Dr. Arroway (Jodie Foster) dealing with conflict from several fronts in not only the persecution of her profession, but also her own issues with religion and relationships. If you read between the lines you see reasons why she seems to be in denial about God and her relationship with Palmer (Matthew McConaughey). Add a boss stealing her credit, government spooks scrutinizing her, and a life long ambition so close she can taste it and you have a veritable melting pot of reasons for a breakdown. If you take out the alien transmissions and space transports you would still have a good drama.

Contact takes a whole different approach in space exploration and alien contact. Contact is not an action film. It's a movie that delves into not only exploration of outer space but also the exploration of human emotions and faith in the unknown. If you're into SETI you're going to love this film. The attention to detail and consistency are really nice. It's about as accurate as you can get to that kind of research.

The DVD is not exactly feature-rich. However back when it was made it was considered pretty nice. You get background information on the actors as well as a fair amount of technical notes on the production of the movie as well as the movie's evolution from book to film. There is also a really nice commentary track by the director and producer that is very informative without being boring or distracting. There is a commentary track by Jodie Foster, but I haven't listened to it yet.

Contact might not be for everyone. But for those who dream about close encounters with extraterrestrials this movie delivers.

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Not an action movie... science fiction.

Contact is a science fiction movie, but not in the sense that Star Wars, or Star Trek, or Battlestar Glactica, or Dune are all science fiction. The subject of Contact is not exclusively aliens. It is not meant to blow you away with special effects either. But it is still science fiction; just not action.

It may be unpopular for movies to do this nowadays, but Contact is meant to get you to think. It is a 'thinking' movie, so to speak, about humans and our society, values and beliefs. Indeed, Arroway's journey to space serves as a plot device to this end.

Unlike many science fictions, Contact does not build up suspense for the purpose of eventually revealing what the aliens look like, what their intentions are, and other things all about the aliens. If you watch this movie, the whole time asking "When am I going to see the aliens," you will be let down without a doubt.

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No words...

This film always brings me to tears. No matter how much I know my emotional strings are being tugged, when Jodie Foster's face morphs into herself as a child and she whispers "No words" ... well, I'm crying now.

To see if you'd like it, find the soundtrack album on Amazon and listen to track ten and imagine Jodie Foster's beautiful, honest face filled with wonder and transcendence. If you think that's beautiful - get the film. If you think that's boring, this might not be the film for you.

Contact

He became so famous as an astronomer that it's easy to forget he was one heck of a fine wordsmith as well. Yes he was. You've watched six shows, at most, on PBS. Sesame Street, Are You Being Served, Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy, Red Dwarf, and Cosmos with Carl Sagan. If you're brighter than me, throw in The McNeil-Lehrer Report or its sequel. But that's it.

Why COSMOS? Well, if I type "billions and billions" in quotes, you hear his voice in your head. Yes you do. The man made astronomy interesting because he was a wordsmith.

CONTACT is a novel by Carl Sagan. Copyright 1985, which works for me. I read it when it was new. Back in my security guard days, down in Tampa Florida. (Yo Bob!) I later saw the film, very well done, with Jodie Foster, but I can't remember it. One of the advantages of getting old.

How does the book stand the test of time? So well that I'm gonna recommend you get it right now. Of course the science is spot on, since this is Carl Sagan. If we ever do hear from somebody not of this earth, this is how it'll happen. But that's a given. What's easy to forget is that Sagan gave us some very well-drawn characters from his world in an eminently readable style. And, as always, accessible science that makes you marvel at the possibilities. Keep in mind that I've probably never used the word "marvel" in a book or movie review before. I'm too old and jaded to marvel. But heck, I marveled.

As if that weren't enough, he had so much fun predicting the future. This far down the road, we can see where he misfired, which was almost never. We can enjoy how accurate he often was. This is where he let his subtle humor roam free, and we can love him for his wit. These are the traits I didn't catch 20 years ago, because I was looking for aliens. Which he also delivers, somewhat, but I don't even care at this point. I just know I love this book.

And yes, the DVD as well, which is good since that's what I'm supposed to be reviewing here. The DVD is true to the book, so of course it's excellent. A whole lot of fine actors here too.

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Overrated

Contact is one of those movies were you have to share your opinion with friends, not as much for the alien factor, but the always intriguing Science vs. Religion debate that entails.
The "religious" elements of the story were just plain dumb. Does anyone recall there being a belief test for astronauts before?

There are mysteries in the world which are completely unfathomable to me. And one of them is why anyone can consider this film to be any good at all.
It is true that it had a promising start, with the first alien signal being detected by scientists; but from that point on, it goes downhill at the speed of light. Apparently, it is supposed to be a realistic hypothesis on how contact with an alien civilization could take place. But for me the story is completely unbelievable, and so full of holes that they are too many to list them all... I don't believe NASA would ever handle things the way they do in the film, I don't believe the church, let alone some neo-hippy preacher, would have squat to say in how things were handled, I don't believe a terrorist could ever get that easily to the very centre of the most expensive and important structure ever built by mankind, I don't believe some rich guy could set up a secret spaceship orbiting the earth aside from the powers that be, just like that, I don't believe NASA would be so keen to discredit the tale of their chosen ambassador, especially having proof (the hours of blank tape) that there was some truth in it, and I do not believe aliens would show up in a virtual beach with the face and voice of some poor girl's dead daddy. It is all so ridiculously contrived and movie-like that I simply cannot understand the general public's perception that all of this is "realistic", "profound" or "brainy"

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