Despite crucial error, this is an involving story

Rating: 9/10 (17 February 1999)

One crucial error the filmmakers made in adapting Carl Sagan's excellent book is how they watered down Palmer Joss (it also doesn't help that Matthew McConaughey isn't entirely convincing in the role). The argument of science vs. religion, or whether the two were compatible or mutually exclusive, was crucial to the book, and Palmer Joss was not only a three-dimensional character, he also had a clear point of view. In the movie, however, his religious beliefs are just a generalized mishmash, and the movie suffers because of it.
Still, this movie is quite powerful. Jodie Foster shows why she was perfect casting as Ellie Arroway, using not only her intelligence, but her innner strength and vulnerability to play the character, and they all fit. If the religion suffers, the science is well done without being too technical, and the filmmakers capture the wonder of it all without entering "gee-whiz" territory. Many criticized the ending, but I think this is the one case that the relgion part wasn't dumbed down.