CONTAGION Movie Review

There are certain things about movies that are clearly unrealistic. People will watch something happen in a movie and think "That isn't how it would actually happen at all", and they'd be right. But when you think about it, sometimes the overly dramatic is far more interesting than the realistic. This is pretty much the epitome of Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion".

Contagion is a thriller that follows the rapid spread of a deadly virus that kills its victim within days of contamination. The speed and deadliness of the disease causes a worldwide epidemic that kills millions before any concept of a cure can be found. Filled with an all star cast, we follow both the everyday citizens, those in charge of finding a cure, the government officials, the media trying to uncover the truth behind the disease and the first victims to be infected. The progress of each character is followed at the time of the disease's birth all the way to the discovery of the cure, the mass production of the vaccine, and the ensuing reestablishment of civilization.

There was nothing negative to be said about the cast in this film. Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow and Marion Cotillard are among the leads. Each brought their own powerful screen presence - Matt Damon most especially - to carry this film. And it did have the potential to be incredibly interesting. But in the end, I found it slow and drawn out. And a large reason behind it was the fact that it was a bit too realistic. There wasn't as much drama, tension or violence that is usually expected in these types of films. It sets up with a bang and starts exciting, but it seems to be go back and forth between two many characters for periods of time that are far too short. That being said, however, Soderbergh does an excellent job of intertwining the stories seamlessly. But he seems to drag out the set up of the disease far longer than anything else, and it seems to mostly just be speculation from the characters, and not actual storytelling. While this can sometimes be effective, it comes of dry and somewhat boring in this film.

I'd say this is certainly a movie worth renting, but not a movie worth seeing in theatres.