joeydaninja

I've been watching Contact again and again recently on TV.

Darn, I love this movie. It's perfect.

eedoon

You just gotta love Carl Sagan's story. I loved the way the movie (and the book) doesn't take any side between religious and science. And that opening sequence. I just literally goes jawdrop when I saw it for the first time on theatre.

Anyway, yeah. It was a great movie. Loved every part of it.

Pistol Pete

Yeah, that opening sequence had me smiling from ear to ear. What a blast!

jaeufraser

An excellent movie. I didn't feel the romance between Jodie and the priest guy was necessary at all, and the end didn't quite feel as cohesive as it could've been. As in, there are definately some plot holes that seem to be in service of the themes of the movie. Like, did they even try to send another pod through the thing? And of course it leads to the question of what would happen next...I just doubt aliens would go through all that trouble to tell one person of their existence, and then not allow anyone else to see. But, as the thematic elements of the film were intriguing, I took those things in stride.

It is overall an effective and entertaining film, with a lot more insight then you're average summer blockbuster, not to mention some fabulous visual imagery. It's got it's flaws, but it's always entertaining and interesting.

milo bloom

It is horrifically cut down from the book, which is an incredible read. But even on it's own, the movie tells a heck of a story. And I think their idea of first contact is certainly better than Star Trek's. Instead of just deciding a planet is ready then popping in with tricorders a cold six, Contact's aliens took a less "in your face" approach by planting the seeds. Almost like by the time the rest of the planet believes the story, then they'll actually be ready for contact with the rest of the universe.

marty888

What amazes me is how well this movie stands up to multiple viewings - a tribute to how well-made and well-acted this is. AS I recall, it didn't get a great critical or popular acceptance, but I think it's reputation will increase as time goes on.

jaeufraser

Well, it wasn't an Oscar movie but it got pretty good critical notes and grossed 100 million dollars in 1997. Considering the type of film it is, that's not bad (female lead, scifi little action).

The most consistent complaint I heard was "OMG the alien was her dad!" which isn't a complaint I care much about.

Michael Corvin

I'm with milo on this one. Kind of a moot point. They tell one person, a delegate from our world so they can come back and spread the word. How are they supposed to know we live in a cynical society, and that the truth will be buried? They just took our signal and re-broadcast the blueprints for us.

After viewing it multiple times the only thing I don't buy is the relationship, it seemed forced. It wasn't awful, b/c they both acted it well, you just can't force chemistry.

chente

We could use a better DVD.

Groucho

I thought this movie was one of the best of the year, until the head-shakingly dumb ending. It's like they suddenly ran out of money.

Giantrobo

Wasn't the Contact dvd one of the 1st dvds to show "Rot"? I remember threads about it back in early days of dvdtalk.

iggystar

Totally agree with this point. I thought it would skew towards one or the other. I wish I'd see it on the big screen.

Geofferson

Great movie that's lots of fun.

"Wanna go for a ride?"

Duder

I've always loved this movie, and the book. I disagree about the book not leaning any direction on religion, though. Maybe this is just my personal opinion clouding my interpretation of the ending, but there is stuff there that, while it doesn't confirm any religion per se, definitely suggests the existence of a Divine Architect.

Kal-El

"Small moves"

way up for this movie. Also one of those movies that have excellent special f/x--the kind that you hardly notice. Opening shot and ending sequence exempted of course.

redskull47

It's been a while since I've seen it, but wasn't there a line in the movie explaining that once the pod had gone thru the machine once it quit working?

DigIt

Just passing through to give props to the movie as well.

devilshalo

I'm still trying to figure out the quiz.

is to ...

As what is to what?

Michael Corvin

Nope. It was working, that was the issue. It recorded 18 hours of static. Not the 10 seconds it should have if the pod just fell through the machine.

jaeufraser

I think he's referring to the issue of why no one went through the machine a second time, not that it wasn't working the first time.

Nonetheless, they did make mention of how only one person goes, but it's awfully vague. The movie posed so many interesting questions and situations though, I found it natural to want to know and see more. I just found that the reasons they used felt a little forced, at service to the thematic elements of the movie. I still consider these just minor complaints against a pretty damn good

roger_d

90% good but i was let down by the ending.

kevin75

i remember that this was the first movie i ever saw in a stadium seating theater when they first came to town. while i have the dvd and it's been awhile since i have seen it, i do think that it's a great movie.

Trigger

I'm surprised - I thought everyone hated this film... guess it's just me. I actually dug the beginning, but thought it turned to shit later on.