Hmmm. Very non-committal, which is smart.

Rating: Null/10 (12 October 2003)

Zemeckis is quite skilled at innuendo insertion, and "Contact" is certainly no exception. I suppose it was inevitable that he graduate from the 'Back to the Future' and 'R. Rabbit' genre to the more serious. Don't misunderstand. . . Zemeckis is a wonderful director, though politically skewed to the left as are many of the same ilk. Although this was an enjoyable movie, I tried to look past the atheistic sway of Zemeckis, Carl Sagan, et al. Zemeckis is smart enough to keep his distance from such a tangled web of religious furor, but he still suggests (with a wink) that Jodie Foster's character (Ellie) is a stalwart atheist, and that science proves that God doesn't exist because He has left no proof of His existence. When this question comes up between Ellie and Josh (McConaughey), it's intentionally vague, certainly because he commits fornication with Ellie (though he's a 'Priest'). All that aside, the effects were first-class, were skillfully and silently placed where they should be and were not overdone, as is the case in many sci-fi's. (WARNING! Plot killers follow)! Ellie's reunion with her dead father is a very contrived scene where he quickly admits that 'they' downloaded her thoughts before she arrived. Probably (probably)? too much of a plot convenience. (The palm trees are crystal clear, yet his human figure shimmies and waivers until he gets close to the vehicle). I liked the movie, but those like me who believe in God should believe even moreso because of the atheist beliefs of those who made this movie. I took the opinions of the producers/actors with a grain of salt and kept in mind that this was science FICTION.