What Close Encounters Of The 3rd. Kind did back in the 70's, this film takes to the next evolutionary step, in terms of the actual physics & concepts of an actual meeting 'tween us mere mortals & any life-forms.
For my money, Contact contains some of the best discussions of religion & atheism in any film ever made. It's depictions of the manner that things like general fear & politics can get in the way of a true quest for knowledge is both basely intelligent & comprehendibly poignant. This film's plot does a great job treading on the subject of how our society is constantly struggling between the comfort of what we already know & the confrontational truths about our species that can be revealed as result of the discovery of what is new, especially if seen thru the "eyes" of a life-form that's a lot smarter than us.
9/10