Review - Turn and Cough Please... (Contagion, Outbreak)

Contagion (2011)

That person sitting next to you just coughed. Do they have some horrible, highly contagious virus that could wipe out the entire population of Earth or just a popcorn kernel stuck in their throat? That's the setup for Stephen Soderbergh’s newest film “Contagion.”

Working with a multi-layered/multi-storied plot line and a stable of stars, this slow moving character study into a worldwide viral epidemic is bleak, depressing, and loses its footing in Act 3. Starting in China, Gwyneth Paltrow unwittingly brings the super virus to Chicago while her husband, naturally immune Matt Damon, watches her die in the first five minutes of the movie.

Meanwhile, Laurence Fishburne and Kate Winslet from the CDC are looking for the cause as Jennifer Ehle is looking for a cure. Thrown into the mix is internet conspiracy guru Jude Law who rails about the whole virus/antidote thing being a government cover-up for making the pharmaceutical companies even richer than they are. We are witness to countless deaths, untold numbers of soon-to-be-dead, stories of bravery, ‘every-man-for-themselves’, and even get some biological education on the way. Did you know the average human touches their face 2500 times a day? I didn't.

There's looting, rioting, and all the trappings you’d expect to see in the movie of this nature along with people in power trying desperately to figure out how to stop the virus even though the consequences might be just as bad. In the end, everyman Matt Damon, tells us that everything will be okay…or will it?

Outbreak (1995)

Wolfgang Peterson came out with his own movie about contagion called “Outbreak” starring Rene Russo, Dustin Hoffman, and Morgan Freeman. This movie was all about a monkey whereas the “Contagion” virus was attributed to a virus-carrying pork sparerib in China. The Motaba Virus was particularly nasty and lethal and was contained to a small village in Africa. After fire-bombing the entire village (ouch!) everyone thought the virus was dead. But you know one thing about viruses - they love to travel!

And who better to carry said disease than a cute little Capuchin monkey (the same one who played Marcel in TV’s “Friends?”) Some 27 years later, the virus-carrying imp arrives in America and the virus quickly spreads to the populace. It's up to Dustin Hoffman and his estranged wife Rene Russo to find who and where Patient Zero is and make a cure from their blood.

Unlike “Contagion,” “Outbreak” is faster-paced, has a great back-story about the Motaba virus (patterned after the dreaded Ebola virus), cutesy-bickering-divorced-couple jargon, corrupt military commanders, helicopter chase scenes, nail-biting adventure, and a monkey! And who doesn’t like cute deadly virus carrying monkeys?

Check out the host of other stars including Cuba Gooding, Jr., Kevin Spacey, and Donald Sutherland. All in all, a better made film that isn’t as bleak or depressing as “Contagion.” Definitely worth another look.

Available on Netflix or Blockbuster.com