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Nothing like posting a review on your first day on the forum, right? Unfortunately, the last movie I saw was Contagion, so my first review isn't going to be a happy one.
So... Contagion. Yeah. This was one of the more disappointing movies that I have seen in the last year or so. The worst part about the movie is that there wasn't anything terribly wrong with it. The film had all of the great camera work, star power, and slick production that one expects from a big budget Hollywood blockbuster. It just wan't very good.
With so much talent in the cast of this movie it's difficult to blame the acting. Some, however, were better than others. Kudos to Jennifer Ehle for making a very predictable role seem at least mildly interesting. Likewise, Matt Damon did an admirable job trying to bring some semblance of life to a poorly written, and hopelessly undeveloped character. Jude Law probably gave the best performance in the film, playing a character that could only exist in the remedial mind of a Hollywood screenwriter. And yeah, finally, I will give credit to Gwyneth Paltrow. She didn't have a lot of screen time, but for all the hate this woman attracts she does her job every time out and this movie is no exception.
The problem with this movie is that, at it's core, it doesn't even try to be believable. Or creative. Or in any way interesting. The inevitable comparisons to Outbreak don't even work because Outbreak, for all of it's many, ridiculous flaws at least put some thought into what the audience was seeing. There is just such... arrogance in the making of Contagion. The characters are so predictable. The plot is so contrived. From the budget conscious local yokel politicians who can't grasp the great peril of their situation, to the steadfast, hardworking earnestness of a CDC janitor, each character is cut and paste.
The good news, though, is that if you hate surprises this movie is for you. You will know, absolutely know, the fate of each character within 8 seconds of their first appearance on the screen. The hero is obvious. The villain is obvious. The ones who die along the way are obvious. They couldn't even be bothered to pick up a bit of medical knowledge. I'm not a doctor. I've never even taken a first aid class. But even I was shaking my head at some of the holes in this film. One scene, in fact, sums up the movie nicely. Dr. Cheever is a head muckity muck at the CDC who is so knowledgeable in medicine that he is in charge of the whole battle against the killer virus. At one point he says to his assistant, another genius medical researcher, "We need to find a vaccine for this so we can cure these people...". A vaccine. To cure people. Yeah.
So... Contagion. Yeah. This was one of the more disappointing movies that I have seen in the last year or so. The worst part about the movie is that there wasn't anything terribly wrong with it. The film had all of the great camera work, star power, and slick production that one expects from a big budget Hollywood blockbuster. It just wan't very good.
With so much talent in the cast of this movie it's difficult to blame the acting. Some, however, were better than others. Kudos to Jennifer Ehle for making a very predictable role seem at least mildly interesting. Likewise, Matt Damon did an admirable job trying to bring some semblance of life to a poorly written, and hopelessly undeveloped character. Jude Law probably gave the best performance in the film, playing a character that could only exist in the remedial mind of a Hollywood screenwriter. And yeah, finally, I will give credit to Gwyneth Paltrow. She didn't have a lot of screen time, but for all the hate this woman attracts she does her job every time out and this movie is no exception.
The problem with this movie is that, at it's core, it doesn't even try to be believable. Or creative. Or in any way interesting. The inevitable comparisons to Outbreak don't even work because Outbreak, for all of it's many, ridiculous flaws at least put some thought into what the audience was seeing. There is just such... arrogance in the making of Contagion. The characters are so predictable. The plot is so contrived. From the budget conscious local yokel politicians who can't grasp the great peril of their situation, to the steadfast, hardworking earnestness of a CDC janitor, each character is cut and paste.
The good news, though, is that if you hate surprises this movie is for you. You will know, absolutely know, the fate of each character within 8 seconds of their first appearance on the screen. The hero is obvious. The villain is obvious. The ones who die along the way are obvious. They couldn't even be bothered to pick up a bit of medical knowledge. I'm not a doctor. I've never even taken a first aid class. But even I was shaking my head at some of the holes in this film. One scene, in fact, sums up the movie nicely. Dr. Cheever is a head muckity muck at the CDC who is so knowledgeable in medicine that he is in charge of the whole battle against the killer virus. At one point he says to his assistant, another genius medical researcher, "We need to find a vaccine for this so we can cure these people...". A vaccine. To cure people. Yeah.
