Outbreak (1995)

Outbreak is a very good, intense movie on what would happen if a virus were to go rampant. This movie connects well because of recent world news concerning the Ebola virus and in that regard, the film is downright scary. One thing the film did was make sure I develop some healthy habits. That being said, this a fast-paced movie that has an incredible cast and a story that is well-written. My only qualm about the movie is the helicopter chases near the end, as I don't believe they fit the overall story arch.

Wolfgang Petersen's film is about how a fictional disease from Zaire called the Motaba runs rampant in a small California village. Now Colonel Sam Daniels and his CDC helpers must contain the virus before the virus spreads beyond the town's border.

As mentioned before, the film has a very talented cast. It's surprising how many Oscar-winners are in the cast. Dustin Hoffman does very well as Sam Daniels and the man who wants to save the lives of the sick. Rene Russo likewise does a good job as Sam's estranged wife and co-worker. Morgan Freeman is excellent as Sam's boss, the man who is stuck in the middle. We also get great supporting turns from Kevin Spacey and the villainous Donald Sutherland.

Overall, Outbreak is an excellent movie that raises the question "what if?" If any town gets an outbreak of a deadly virus, would the government and the military take the same course of action as they did in this film? No matter which way you look at it, it's a very scary thought. The film, along with 2011's Contagion, are two worthy films to watch if you want to be scared the unconventional way. Because trust me, this film is scary because it could very well happen in reality. As for filmmaking, this is a very intense, well-made film. I rate this film 9/10.

Fmovies: I'm a big fan of disaster movies, this one is a classic mostly due to the outstanding cast attached (Donald Sutherland, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Rene Russo, Cuba Gooding Jr.) and an (almost) realistic story.

It's a decent movie for the most part although does get a bit hokey and over the top where the government conspiracy angle is concerned. I enjoyed the virus story a lot: how it spreads, finding the host, tracing the origin. The movie theatre scene with the man coughing is scary, as we watch the little microbes float through the air infecting the entire audience. I've thought about that scene many times over the years. Patrick Dempsy was a surprise here, playing Jimbo the young grunge dude who steals the monkey.

The cast is fantastic with Hoffman as the lead expert on contagious diseases trying to stamp out a killer virus in a small California town. Russo plays his soon to be ex-wife and Spacey and Gooding both work under him. Hoffman does pretty well as the action hero, his scenes with Cuba and are good as they steal a helicopter and they're on the run, good chemistry. Morgan Freeman is a General caught in the middle, trying to cover up the fact that he and Donald Sutherland bombed the hell out of an African village in the 60's to halt the same disease.

Sutherland's character becomes too much, almost comical towards the end in his sublime efforts to stop Hoffman from finding out the truth and to complete his (personal) mission of eradicating the infected town. This was too much.

Still a good movie, scary and for the most part well done.8/23/15

Personally this film is in my top 10. It is a real treat of a movie to watch which not only acts as pure entertainment but also a deeply involving film which involves great performances and some real thrilling moments. It all starts with the wipe-out of an African village due to a deadly virus. However the virus is transported to the US by a small monkey which is smuggled by boat. The film then tracks along as more and more people get infected and the virus mutates making it airborne and more of a threat. "It spreads like the flu" The actors involved are Dustim Hoffman who as usual does an outstanding job. Rene Russo is used well as a love complication. Kevin Spacy is brilliant as the doctor with a sense of humour. Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland seem to be having fun with the material and things get interested when they clash at the end. The film, although thrilling at times (e.g a spectacular helicopter chase and an attempt to break out of the quarantined town) is extremely emotional as it does follow a few people as they are diagnosed with the virus. However, this is where the film also goes downhill a bit. We are expecting to see the chaos and mass panic of a virus infected town. However things seem abnormally calm, and I got fed up of main stars getting infected just to add to the pressure to Dustim Hoffman's character.

But overall this film is brilliant, I strongly advise everyone tries to watch this. it isn't everyone's cup of tea but is still a brilliant film which I will treasure and keep in my top 10.

Outbreak fmovies. I chose to rent this on the basis of its very strong cast. Headed by Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman (who also do well) the movie also included names like Rene Russo, Kevin Spacey, Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Donald Sutherland. With names like that I had to assume at the very least that the performances would be strong. For the most part they were, although Sutherland came off as a little bit flat in the role of General McClintock - which I think had less to do with Sutherland and was more the result of his character being too one dimensional. Otherwise the cast was fine.

The story revolved a virus that originated in Africa in the 1960's and was finally spread to the US by an imported monkey released into the forests of California. The disease spreads as far as Boston, but is more or less contained in the small town of Cedar Creek, California. The disease is obviously a threat, and there's a race going on to find a cure for it before it spreads throughout America and maybe the world. Hoffman played Col. Daniels - an Army doctor trying to figure this out; Freeman was his friend and superior Gen. Ford.

When the focus of the movie was on the fight against the disease, this was pretty good. I might compare it a little bit to the more recently released "Contagion." The disease in that movie seemed far more threatening, but that movie got bogged down in medical jargon and turned into a lacklustre medical mystery. "Outbreak" avoided being lacklustre and didn't seem to be trying to impress anyone by using big medical terms. I found the fight against this disease more gripping than the battle in "Contagion." The two movies also share a similar plot point about the motives of the government.

Where "Outbreak" fails is at the point that it chooses to become little more than an action thriller (basically the last 30-40 minutes) which eventually gets reduced to little more than an extended helicopter chase. That was well done, but it went on far too long and after a while I just wanted to get on with the story.

It's a big problem when you find the last half hour of a movie to be rather dull. And yet, up to that point it was doing a pretty good job with its basic story, and, frankly, I enjoyed watching this more than I enjoyed watching "Contagion." (6/10)

This film was everything that many action thrillers are not. For one, the action really was thrilling at times. The story was well written and directed, and for a film that wasn't really "over the top" by action movie standards, there were many tense moments to enjoy. But what struck me the most was the cast. I mean, this is about as good a list of actors that you will ever find in one movie, and they all deliver, just as you would expect from all this talent. It's truly one of the most exciting movies that I've seen in some time.

Outbreak (1995, Dir. Wolfgang Peterson)

It's 1967 and there's a deadly outbreak of 100% mortality rate virus in Motaba River Valley, Zaire. The Valley is destroyed to prevent the virus from spreading, but 27 years later, the virus finds its way over to the USA aboard a monkey. This time though, the virus has evolved and is now airborne, as Col. Sam Daniels (Hoffman) races to not only prevent a virus epidemic but to prevent the destruction of Cedar Creek by the corrupt Maj. Gen. Donald McClintock (Sutherland).

Great acting from its talented cast and superb storytelling make a well made film which hooks you into waiting for the final outcome. Story doesn't focus on the effects of the virus, but rather the hunt for the cure, which makes a far better film.

You want a hotshot scope-jockey, fine, but, frankly, I'm hurt. – Maj. Casey Schuler (Kevin Spacey)