It coulda been brilliant -- but it's not

Rating: 3/10 (9 April 1999)

This could have been a brilliant story -- but, of course, that's simply not possible in Hollywood. The Club Med encounter with the alien species was ridiculous. Either show us the greebies or, if not, then the film's creators should leave the audience with such a sense of otherness or "alien-ness" as to make us appreciate just how strange it would be to encounter an extraterrestrial intelligence (e.g. the singing slab in 2001). The scene in which the aliens are first heard is exciting -- and so it should be. The plot would have been far more interesting if it had delved more in the confirmation and translation of the data they sent than with the mindless hearings on Capitol Hill as to whether there is a God or not. Let's be real, here. Were we to hear from another civilization, the first things Congress would be called on to determine is can we protect outselves against them (if they are dangerous) and how much would it cost to communicate and/or meet them. Just can't see how God would figure into this conversation. Anyway, as for the acting. Well, I can't stand Jodie Foster; she's an artistic fraud. But, she is rather good at playing herself (i.e. an intelligent person). She had zero chemistry with lover boy there, but, of course, she always aims to place herself in the center of a film, even if that is at the expense of the rest of the cast and the film's artistic integrity. And all the rest of the actors -- well, your basic two dimensions. This isn't all Zemeckis' fault. He had to work off Sagan's so-so book. Too bad. I'm still waiting for a good alien encounter film. Maybe next time...