Movie Review: Contagion

Contagion

PG-13, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed By

Steven Soderbergh

Written By

Scott Z. Burns

Genres

Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure

Main Actors: Matt Damon, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Sanaa Lathan.

Easy on the eyes factor: 2. Because of the disease, everyone looks pretty jacked up and stressed out. Even the beautiful Kate Winslet and Gwyneth are reduced to ugly as the sickness wears on. Jude Law has crooked teeth. It's brutal.

30 Minute Rule: Yes. Engaging right away!

Plot: Contagion follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. As the fast-moving epidemic grows, the worldwide medical community races to find a cure and control the panic that spreads faster than the virus itself. At the same time, ordinary people struggle to survive in a society coming apart.

My Review: Remember the movie Outbreak with Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman? This is not that movie. Contagion gets to the heart of the matter right away. The movie does not mess around. It kills instantly. You lose a main character in the first 10 minutes of the movie. From that point on, people are dropping like flies. It dealt with how corporations, politicians, pharmaceutical companies, lobbyist, the military and the public deal with epidemics. People are affected everywhere and not just by acquiring the disease. This movie will make you more conscious of hygiene and public use. From Bar snack bowls to holding railings on trains and buses. Get the industrial sized hand sanitizer after watching this, because you'll be squeamish.

I doubt if this movie would be as good without the star power. It probably would not attract as many viewers because the subject matter is very dark and at times clinical. But everyone from Matt Damon to Kate Winslet are so convincing as sick or affected human beings that you forget that they are actors and you forget that they are A-list actors even more. Contagion hits home like blunt force trauma. It's a really solid film.

Rating 7 of 10 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥