Interesting premise, comical execution

Rating: 3/10 (10 June 2007)

This movie adapts some ideas of physics advanced by some of the greatest minds to ever live. Unfortunately, those great minds had little do do with the execution of this movie.
Jodie Foster is a renegade scientist with a chip on her shoulder who is convinced of the existence of extraterrestials, and their intervention in human history. Foster's acting is, as usual, extremely believable; however, the character is written like a bratty snot, who is surrounded by imbeciles. Somehow, contact with some unknown force does occur, providing an instruction manual for a device.
Remember those gyroscopic toys kids used to play with? 'Nuff said. Apparently, this is how to travel through worm holes and what not. The gyro notwithstanding, other special effects are usually interesting, and the story has moments of original revelations to offer. Often, however, the movie falls back on clichés of government idiots and psycho zealots, before the scientist test drives her machine. What she experiences on her journey makes for a poorly contrived finale.
The cast act enthusiastically, but their efforts are sunk by characters written as blithering idiots. They are not believable as people who would accomplish anything of this magnitude, nor does the film bother to make anything else plausible. For a film that seems to want to offer insights, this one crashes and burns.