A radio astronomer receives the first extraterrestrial radio signal ever picked up on Earth. As the world powers scramble to decipher the message and decide upon a course of action, she must make some difficult decisions between her beliefs, the truth, and reality.
Nominated for 1 Oscar. 14 wins & 31 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
rotten:
When it tries to personify the struggle between skepticism and faith in the relationship between Ellie and her theologian boyfriend, it becomes flat and obvious.
– Mick LaSalle,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Jun 2002
rotten:
When Contact finally comes alive, it leaves you frightened and thrilled and emotionally overwrought, as only a child can be. The rest is pandering.
– Sarah Kerr,
Slate,
8 Jun 2007
rotten:
Contact takes forever to lift off.
– Rita Kempley,
Washington Post,
8 Jun 2007
fresh:
Like Jodie Foster's hopeful space voyager in the picture, "Contact" may not travel quite as far as it hopes to go, but the trip is worth taking nonetheless.
– Todd McCarthy,
Variety,
26 Mar 2009
rotten:
Something like one of those mysterious asteroids that get the astronomers all worked up: a large body of gaseous matter surrounding a relatively small core of solid substance.