I have been having a blast re-watching movies that I loved as a teenager and getting my wife to watch them. Contact was released in 1997, and during this time, I was all in on The X-Files, and any kind of program, movie, or documentary about aliens would grab my attention. This is based on a book by Carl Sagan, and it is directed by the legendary Robert Zemeckis.
Where to Watch Contact
Contact was released on July 11, 1997. You can stream the film from a digital platform such as Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video.
The Movie Review
In going back and watching some of the movies from my teenage years in the 90s, some movies are nowhere near as good as I remember them being, and others, like Contact, are even better! This is a fantastic and very smart sci-fi movie about the search for extraterrestrial life. Now, if you are into this kind of thing, you will love this. However, if you are not, and my wife is certainly not, you will probably find it boring. My wife, really, really did not care for this movie!
Jodie Foster Shines as Dr. Ellie Arroway
Our main character is a scientist called Dr. Ellie Arroway, who is played by Jodie Foster. I know most people think of The Silence of the Lambs, Freaky Friday, Bugsy Malone or even Panic Room when it comes to Jodie Foster, for me, Ellie is her best and most likable character that she has ever played!
The Premise: SETI, Vega, and the Mysterious Signal
Ellie works for S.E.T.I and she is desperate to find proof of extraterrestrial life. Well, the government is not happy with the money being spent on this program, so they are going to pull their funding. Thankfully for Ellie, a billionaire called Hadden is interested in this, and he agrees to fund Ellie’s research, and it is a very good thing that he did.
Building the Machine and the Global Reaction
Just when it seems like Hadden is going to lose interest and pull finding, a signal from Vega is picked up, and after some digging around, a message is found hidden inside this signal, a message with plans to build something! These plans are to build some kind of teleportation device, and the governments around the world work together to fund this thing and make it happen, and of course, there is a lot of talk about who will pilot this.
Politics, Religion, and the Race to Space
You would think that Ellie is the prime candidate, and she is, but a religious man called Palmer, played by Matthew McConaughey, who has a past with Ellie, has doubts, causing her to lose out. Well, they built this device which will allow one person to travel through a wormhole deep into space to make contact, but before the launch, a terrorist played by Jake Busy, blows the whole thing up!
A Second Machine and the Journey Beyond
Now, while everyone had come together to build this thing, Hadden had secretly built a second one on the other side of the world, and he wants Ellie to be the pilot. Ok, so thanks to Family Guy ripping on this, you do have to admit, this is a pretty big, convenient thing to happen, and how the heck did no one notice this massive structure that is exactly the same as the other one that was built being assembled?
The Wormhole Experience and Emotional Impact
Anyway, logic and possible plot holes aside, Ellie’s journey through the wormhole and what she sees is amazing. I remember being in awe of this the first time I saw it, and now, as an adult, I think I appreciate this more. It is not just the “contact” that is made. It is the fact that you really connect with Ellie, and you can feel what this means for her.
Final Thoughts: A Sci-Fi Gem That Still Holds Up
As I said, if you love sci-fi that is not just aliens coming to Earth and blowing stuff up, I am sure you will really enjoy Contact. It is a bit of a slow burn movie, but the first time you watch it, you are always wondering if this is legit or not. I liked this as a teenager, but I think I appreciate it even more now as an adult.
