Review of Contact (1997) by Mark B — 03 Feb 2010

All earth-shattering, mind blowing, incredulous intentions aside, I found the highly regarded "Contact" to be a mess of a movie, with limited entertainment value. It is long, it is laborious, and it is haughty. It has lots of brilliant colors at the end, but by then, you're just happy the thing is finally over.

This might be one of those films that we are expected to enjoy because of the quality of the entertainers involved. Director Robert Zemeckis certainly has an impressive resume, and Jodie Foster may not be a superstar, but she is talented and well-liked. Heck, the thing was written by Carl Sagan! Throw in David Morse, Tom Skerritt, and Matthew McConaughey, how could you go wrong? Let me count the ways.

Sagan may have had an idea of what this was going to be all about, but by the time they wrap this thing up, I suspect he was the only one that knew what the heck was going on. McConaughey's character held promise, but he evolved into some sort of preachy, new wave minister that just added to the confusion.

I won't get into the plot, because I don't know how to explain it. Well, we know there was a really cool machine designed by aliens, and there was quite the build up as the world watched the contraption get built. There was a dose of political intrigue, a smattering of a romance. There were a lot of many things, actually. Maybe that was the problem.

Perhaps I need to see this again with Mr. Sagan at my side, explaining to me what it all means. Then, maybe Carl and I could slice about 45 minutes out of this mess and upgrade it into something akin to a mediocre movie. Or we can just leave it as it is, which is one of the most overrated films of the millennium.