Contact is enthralling - but NOT convincing!

Rating: 6/10 (28 September 2016)

Contact is far, far removed from the melodramatic, bombastic and showy sci-fi films we keep on seeing. How many sci-fi films have you seen based purely on search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence – and not showing imaginary aliens and the bewildering worlds they come from?
MERITS of Contact
1 – It shows a realistic way to search for aliens and for aliens to search for us. That is through transmitting and searching for signals in the huge outer space.
2 – Superb visual effects (esp. the beach landscape to which Jodie Foster was "transported", in the closing scenes of the film)!
3 – The pace, the feel and the build-up in the movie was enthralling and engaging.
DEMERITS of Contact
1 – Bringing up the conflict between Science and Religion is totally unnecessary, unconvincing and misplaced.
It is ridiculous that Jodie was deselected for travelling in the specially built machine, just because she is an Atheist (and, therefore, is not fully representative of Humanity). Later Matthew McConaughey, one of the selectors, told Jodie that he deselected her because he did not want to lose her.
This looks totally illogical and whimsical.
2 – The ending is too is totally unconvincing! Jodie insists she was gone for approximately 18 hours in the second machine. But her recording devices show only a static image. No one believed her. But some confidential report confirmed that although devices only recorded a static image, it recorded 18 hours of it.
This is a strange conclusion that just does not make sense!
Am I supposed to give Contact 20 stars/10 stars for this unexplained, mystifying and open-ended mystery?