Contact

When this first came out I thought it sucked! I mean that...I didn't like the book and I thought the film was even worse. Now, one must be aware I was a great admirer of Carl Sagan's work...damn...I almost got arrested trying to see one of his lectures but that is a different story for another day. His work on COSMOS, BROCA'S BRAIN....this was the Sagan I knew and loved....so when he ventured into fiction it was a bit of a stratch for me. All of that being said, when I caught CONTACT again during my couch trip last week I was surprised to find out just how engaging the story really is and I must go and have another look at the book as a result of it. The story is simple on the surface, we discover a beacon from space that has the instructions to build a machine which will allow us to travel to the Vega system. The subplot is far more complex, so much so the film can barely touch upon all of the issues raised in Sagan's book. Here is where I will stop as far as the stroy goes.....as always I will let you discover it for yourself. What I will say is once again Robert Zemeckis delivers the good and I will also mention you should not let the fact Jodie Foster is in the lead scare you away. She more than carries her weight here, something I failed to notice the first time I watched. There is a serious support cast to back her up and like the story I'll let you have the fun of seeing them for yourself though a mention must be made of John Hurt who yet again brings a stunning character to the mix. This is one that if you give it the time needed will have you thinking far after the film has ended.