--- title: "Contact: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/contact/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/contact" critics_score: 63 critics_reviews: 7 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Contact (1997): what the critics said Critics' score 63 from 7 reviews: 3 positive, 3 mixed, 1 negative. The reviews lean towards qualified approval of Contact, with praise clustering around Jodie Foster’s central performance and the visual effects. Critics repeatedly credit the film with taking alien contact seriously, even when they question how it handles the larger questions. Foster gives the discussion a human centre, while the ambitious visual sequences earn approval across otherwise divided notices. The film’s intelligence and earnestness are strengths for its supporters, rather than reasons to dismiss it as solemn science fiction. The main disagreements concern its spirituality and whether its ideas sustain the running time. Empire welcomes a serious spiritual thinkpiece, despite some sentimentality; The New Yorker finds the spiritual yearning patience-stretching. Complaints about length recur even in favourable reviews, alongside reservations about sermonising, thin characterisation and talk-heavy plotting. The spread is substantial, but admiration for Foster and the effects survives much of the criticism. ## Empire — Neil Jeffries Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic views Contact as a serious spiritual thinkpiece rather than a typical sci-fi blockbuster, praising its earnest exploration of alien contact and Jodie Foster's brilliant central performance. They highlight the film's striking visuals and memorable opening sequence while noting it can feel lengthy and overly sentimental in places. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/contact-review/) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 7 July 1997. The film is praised as a serious and engrossing piece of speculative fiction that is beautifully crafted and intelligently involving for much of its length. It singles out Foster's performance and the technical and visual achievements for particular commendation while noting some long-windedness and preachy elements. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/contact-2-1117341257/) ## Radio Times — John Ferguson Rating 3/5. The critic finds the film's over-zealous new age spirituality a flaw in an otherwise impressive adaptation of Carl Sagan's novel. They praise Zemeckis's use of special effects and Jodie Foster's transcendent performance in the climactic sequence. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-oj7rbf/contact/) ## The New York Times — Stephen Holden Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 11 July 1997. The critic finds the film technologically dazzling but intellectually strained and emotionally chilly, ultimately embracing mysticism over rationality. He singles out the visually intoxicating space travel sequences as its strongest element. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/11/movies/which-route-upward-on-a-wing-or-a-prayer.html) ## Time Out — TCh Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 21 July 2014. The review praises the film's ambitious visual sequences and scope but criticizes the screenplay for mixing profound questions with hokey elements, shallow characters, and sermonising. It highlights the contrast between strong visual coups and weak narrative execution. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/contact) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 14 July 1997. The review mocks the film's later turn to spiritual yearning and finds the whole experience long and patience-stretching after an initial thrill. It singles out the moment of detecting the alien signal as the most exciting sequence. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1997/07/21/spaced-out) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Duane Byrge 7 July 1997. The film is a disappointingly earthbound and bloated sci-fi adaptation weighed down by talky dramaturgy and schematic plotting. Foster's commanding lead performance and some impressive visual effects sequences stand out as highlights. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/contact-review-1997-movie-1019683/) ## Den of Geek — Simon Brew Rating 4/5. 29 October 2009. The critic finds an excellent 100-minute film inside the overlong 150-minute release, praising its intelligence, Jodie Foster's committed lead performance, strong supporting cast, and visual effects, while complaining that the ending spells everything out too explicitly and that some early scenes drag. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/contact-blu-ray-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/contact.md