MovieChat Forums > Contact (1997) Discussion > Great rewatch. Still holds up.

Great rewatch. Still holds up.

posted 2 years ago by [deleted]
16 replies | jump to latest

The movie could do with some brushed up special effects but is still mesmerizing and thought provoking for those who grasp the size of space and the possibilities that come with that.

[–] Rusty (548) 2 years ago

It’s B-tier Zemeckis but still holds up for sure.

[–] damocci (1516) 2 years ago

Really, you think this is B-tier? Because I think this is one of the movies where Zemeckis was in top form. But then again my favorite Zemeckis film is Forrest Gump, a movie that is scorned by many cinephiles.

[–] Rusty (548) 2 years ago

Gump, BTTF I and II, and Roger Rabbit are his A-tier films. Timeless classics, perfectly made.

Contact is a very good movie but it’s not as revolutionary or impactful as those groundbreakers. It sits comfortably alongside Cast Away, Romancing The Stone and Beowulf.

[–] damocci (1516) 2 years ago

Perhaps Carl Sagan should take credit for the idea, but you don't think that the rivalry and eventual marriage between science and religion was kinda revolutionary? I thought it was. I haven't seen any other movie that balances faith vs science so well that at the end of the film you don't actually know whether Ellie went on a cosmic journey or simply had a near-death experience. That's why I personally think Contact is one of Zemeckis's A-tier films.

[–] ByTheVineyard (589) a year ago

You clearly have horrible taste and understanding I would add

[–] Melton (5626) 5 months ago

I might throw Death Becomes Her and What Lies Beneath in the Zemeckis B-tier as well, but there’s no doubt that Back To The Futures I and II, Roger Rabbit and Gump are his masterpieces.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1647) 2 months ago

I would put Beowulf in the C or even D tier.

[–] Aries (875) 2 years ago

Love this movie and re-watch it at least once a year. As good as the novel was, the movie version is better IMO. No one else but Jodie Foster could've played Ellie for me.

[–] damocci (1516) 2 years ago

Some of the cinematography is just outstanding. In particular young Ellie running up the stairs to get the pills for her father.

[–] Aries (875) 2 years ago

Yes, agreed. The whole wormhole travel sequence is also amazing.

[–] TandyMan (11357) 2 years ago

I watch this and 2010 and Mission to Mars every few years. I think it could have been a little more. There's a few bits that drag. Could have been tightened up a little. It gets a little too hung up in the realism of the moment. Then again, maybe that's what makes it feel so believable. And I think the faith angle with McConaughey's character should have been hammered home a little harder. But it's a very excellent film. I never get tired of it. I miss hopeful movies like this.

[–] ATG6 (3000) 2 years ago

The first two thirds are great, portraying what it really might be like to receive an encoded message from an advanced civilization around another star.

The last third is typical Hollywood mumbo-jumbo about feelings.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

A life without feelings is an empty life.

[–] [deleted] 2 years ago

You can write-off 95% of Americans in that case.

[–] AnthonySocksss (1647) 2 months ago

My favourite part was John Hurt as Hadden. One of the coolest fictional characters ever.

[–] hootiehome (474) 2 months ago

It really does.

The two main things I love are showing how the population would react. And how Elle shrugs off faith, and in the end that's exactly what she needs from the rest of the world.