Make your personal contact NOW!

Rating: 9/10 (29 March 2000)

Contact
DIRECTION % Nice touches throughout with the direction skill increasing as the movie progresses.
ACTING t% Not Jodie Foster strongest role, but good enough to get the central themes across.
EDITING/SPECIAL EFFECTS % Was that really President Clinton? Or showmanship editing from previous braodcast? Nevertherless other aspects including the special effect puts the marks up.
PLOT % The search for life on other planets with some of the problems it would cause if they found it. One of the problems was this movie is that it assumes that different religions and faiths would probably act the same way (would they really!?) It brings up the question how should different faiths relate to each other in an increasing secular and competitive world? However the question of understanding faith will leave the unspiritual with questions in their minds, as it did to a few of my unchristian friends who saw the movie!
STRONG WORDS AND VIOLENCE ETC g% Some in a few places, but not enough to distract from the overall message directly..
MUSIC 4% Not the most noticably thing in the movie.
SOUND q% High technology used to create beeps and other sound.
HOOKABILITY t% Slow build up leads to........
LASTABILITY '%......the what will happen next stage?
OVERALL % If this movie just had that little bit extra it would have achieved the 90% mark or over. Notwithstanding, the idea of faith being unable to test is true enough, Faith depends upon not mounting up evidences, rather a personal 'CONTACT' with the unknown