Sloppy and Unengaging

Rating: 4/10 (25 February 2018)

After reading Roger Ebert's "Great Movie" review of this and hearing from others that it was the new 2001: A Space Odyssey, I had very high expectations for this film. While Roger Ebert's review was very well-written and many of his points were accurate, the film was a let-down and does not at all achieve the greatness that many have claimed it has.
It has an interesting concept to begin with. A young girl fascinated by communication gets to use her passion to pursue something beyond Earth. The first part of the film and the set up is interesting and adequate, but the film crumbles in on itself when Matthew McConaughey's character is introduced and the film becomes sloppy, boring, and dumb. His character is supposed to contrast ideologically with Jodie Foster's Ellie Arroway. Since this is a PG-rated film and can't not be cliche, they naturally have to fall in love for a short time despite an astounding lack of emotional connection and interest in their "relationship." His character comes back later on in a dumb, un-creative, and annoying way just to add conflict and "depth" to the story/characters -- even though it doesn't.
The story has its high points and it has its low points. It does manage -- at times -- to match 2001: A Space Odyssey's visual effects and intriguing concepts, but then returns to the human world and reverses any smart themes or messages back into the dumb "faith vs. proof" argument. The way that this message is executed is poor and takes away from the greater story of space exploration and contact with other-worldly beings. Instead of extending the story and creating a new aspect of debate and discussion, the film is distinctly divided between its religious/scientific message and its 2001-like grandness of space.
Perhaps if this film went for a less realistic approach and focused more on the smart themes of space exploration while also exploring the psyche of its main character, it could have been considered a classic more on par with 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the end, I can't recommend this film because it ends up pandering to younger audiences by dumbing-down its themes and topics that alienates (pun intended) audiences in search of a smarter, more mature film.
2/5 stars.