amiranda-39274
I probably first saw this movie when i was 8 years old ( yes it probably did scar me, and gave me a little OCD !), but it taught me about the dangers of germs. Ive probably re watched this movie at least once a year ever since, also it seems every biology class i was ever in, including my current microbiology class considers this movie the go to disease movie, also this movie is the first thing i think of when the word virus is ever used in a conversation. Despite my nostalgia for this movie ( even the cover of this film is nostalgic to me), i will give a fair review. First i want to talk about Wolfgang Petersen's phenomenal filming, it just feels so grand, also there is just something about the way 90's movie cameras filmed that just feels so likeable, and more attractive then modern day movies. i love how the movie opens at a CDC center, showing each level of disease control. The movie then takes you to a village in Zaire, Africa, where the fictional "Motabu" virus ( that can only be spread through contact) has killed an entire village, the way its filmed and the music just makes it so suspenseful when being in the presence of a 100% mortality rate virus, and then it shows a shot of the real star of the entire movie, the Capuchin monkey that is the host of the virus. the movie follows this monkey, from when it is captured, put on a Chinese ship that goes to America, to a animal testing facility, to a pet store in a small town named cedar creek, i think they really displayed how a animal with a contagious virus, could easily be transported across the world to the most unlikely of places. Of course this scene leads to every human that comes in contact with the monkey getting infected, and now that I'm older i think its kind of idiotic. The first person to have contact with the infected monkey is a animal smuggler named jimbo who is played by Patrick Dempsey( My sisters are Greys anatomy fans and they freaked out when they realized its the same guy), jimbo tries to sell the monkey to a pet store owner, but the monkey scratches him and he doesn't want it, so jimbo decides to let the infected monkey free into the woods ( this scene was actually very touching and felt like a different movie!) On a plane to Boston, Jimbo starts showing symptoms of the disease, but besides getting his girlfriend infected by making out, no one else seems to get sick. However in cedar creek, the pet store owner gets sick and at the hospital a idiot blood analyst gets his blood all over himself, and decides to go to a movie theater that same night where he coughs over everyone spreading the disease ( this scene has made me paranoid of everyone coughing or sneezing in the movie theater, that i always cover my mouth on instinct!). This leads to the eventful outbreak, and the military comes in to create a quarantine. of course this doesn't make the citizens too happy, and some actually try to drive out of town but get shot by helicopters, i always saw these people as selfish, but now i can relate with their panic. Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Kevin spacey and Cuba gooding Jr. soon discover that the virus has mutated and become AIRBORNE! and can now be spread like the flu, they soon realize in order to save the remaining survivors they must find the host, in order to get its antibodies and make a cure. meanwhile Donald Sutherland and Morgan Freeman reveal they have had the cure for the original virus, but have covered it up, because the military have been using this particular virus as a biological weapon and decide they want to firebomb the entire town to prevent the spread. The tension really increases when more people become infected, including Kevin spacey who ripped his suit, and Rene Russo who gets pricked with a needle! And when the imminent bombing is discovered, Dustin Hoffman and Cuba have to find the host fast. The ending is mostly helicopter action, but the tension is still very present, and the speed it took to find the host and create a cure from it, is very improbable, but it is awesome. The music in this movie makes every action scene more grand, and every scene involving the virus, feel like a horror movie. Despite the very morbid theme of this movie, there is carefully placed humor, that keeps this movie from going too dark but does not disrupt the tension of the movie. The acting in this movie is amazing, the main leads are each given a moment to shine, and every single one of the extras gives a great performance ( The mother of the little girl whose friends with the monkey, give a great shocked face every time). And the monkey is my favorite character, it just so wonderful to watch it, even though it is just an animal, you cant help but feel it is the villain of this movie, in fact the virus feels like it is sentient and purposefully getting people sick. This movie is great and i hope more people watch it, maybe its scientifically inaccurate and maybe a little melodramatic, but it is still a incredible movie about the true horrors of disease. As Donald Sutherland said " You have never seen anything like this before"
cheesecake
I have to think that Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey, Renee Russo and McDreamy knew at some point early in production that things weren't going well.I've rated it 1 star for overall quality; however, if you are willing to suspend reality and watch as "entertainment", you will find this is closer to 5-6 stars of afternoon enjoyment along the lines of Reptillicus (look it up) or any of the old Godzilla movies, less the A-list actors.
Hitchcoc
This is a real potboiler. It's another one of those films that has so many contrivances that it's hard to keep track of it all. It is also laden with incredible incompetence by so many people whose lives and positions revolve around absolute care and precaution. People are practically running into each other trying to do the next thing. Torn suits (why bother to wear them), accidental injections, escaping monkeys, kisses of death, are just part of the craziness, not to mention the motivations of the bad guys. And finally, there is that battle in the air. The actors are some of the best, but the plotting and happenstance are really too much.
quetzalli13
What started out as an apparently well-researched thriller became, through the power of over-the-top acting, action movie gimmicks, some pretty gruesome makeup, plot holes, and very confusing and alarmingly inaccurate ideas about viruses -although maybe the '90s are to blame for that -such a silly movie. So silly.Even so, I watched this 2-hour-plus movie until the end, and I see how it could have become a masterpiece through the right script edits. But alas.It's still a thousand times better than Contagion, though. A million times, possibly.
