Review of Outbreak (1995) by Ryan S — 31 Jan 2015

If I were to become constantly paranoid by films, there are two things that I have learned from Hollywood about primates: 1. They will take over the world and enslave the human race via Planet Of The Apes franchise. 2. They will destroy us through disease via this film and 28 Days Later.

Joking aside, I tremendously enjoyed Outbreak and found it to be a rather top notch thriller. It has also become timely again in the wake of the recent ebola sensation that swept across the world. It's a riveting, thrilling, suspenseful, and downright brilliant thriller that is also very underrated.

The film begins in an African village in 1967, where the villagers are dying of an unknown viral outbreak. Despite promises from the U.S. military to help out the village, it is decided that the village must be destroyed to eliminate the virus before it can spread. A cover up is soon in order and the world has no recollection of the event.

Nearly 30 years later, the disease pops up again, and baffles the military medical personnel sent to investigate the outbreak, as they are not aware of the events that took place decades earlier. Colonel Sam Daniels wants an alert put out about the virus, but his superiors dismiss his wishes because they believe that the virus will not appear in the United States.

Seeing how he is being ignored, Sam decides to get in touch with his ex-wife (Whom he still has strong feelings for), Roberta, who works at the C.D.C. to put out the alert for him, which she agrees to, but she is also ignored by her superiors.

However, Sam's worst fears come true when a monkey carrying the deadly virus is smuggled into the U.S. and stolen by a man who takes it to Cedar Creek, California. Within a matter of hours, he is infected by the monkey, and the virus begins to spread rapidly with a 100% fatality rate. Soon, Cedar Creek is quarantined by the government - no one is allowed in or out. Anyone who tries to leave will be shot.

Against his superior's orders, Sam and his team travel to Cedar Creek to try and help out, as well as find a cure, and find the host of the virus, who has since escaped. Soon, things get worse when the virus that at first could only be transmitted by contact from an infected patient soon mutates and becomes airborne, sending everyone into panic mode for fear of a worldwide outbreak.

Now, Sam and his team, along with his ex-wife, must find a way to stop the virus, but he must also contend with a rekindling relationship between him and Roberta, and also uncover the terrifying secrets and plans being made by his superiors which puts the entire population of Cedar Creek at risk.

Some critics and moviegoers found the story to be a mess of Hollywood pseudo-science and melodrama. Sure, the film does follow formulas, but it adds a fresh flavor to these old ideas, complete with interesting characters and a fairly plausible scenario. There is a lot to delve into, storywise, as it not only deals with a viral outbreak, but also romance, corruption, action, thriller, mystery, and drama which I found irresistible and glued me to my seat.

Acting wise, I would expect nothing short of great considering the cast assembled. Dustin Hoffman in the lead role of Sam gave a brilliant performance that was very believable as his character has the weight of the world on his shoulders and the lives of everyone he cares about hangs in the balance. The film also contains heavyweights like Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland (Giving a great, menacing performance), Renee Russo, Cuba Gooding Jr. back when he starred in good films (Yeah, remember that? What happened? I miss that Cuba Gooding Jr.), and Kevin Spacey who also deliver top notch performances.

If you enjoy thrillers, Outbreak offers a lot to fans of the genre. I found it riveting, suspenseful, thrilling, and intriguing because it has so many ideas and concepts lurking within its superbly written plot. There's a great deal to untangle in the plot, and it also boasts some pretty terrific scenes of action and suspense, too. It's both a smart thriller, but also a film that provides plenty of popcorn entertainment as well.

Outbreak is a thoroughly underrated thriller. It features great direction, superb performances, a great storyline, plenty of suspense, action, drama, and romance, and great music that should culminate in more praise, but alas, it seems to be a rather divisive thriller. But, if you enjoy thrillers, this film is worth giving a shot at least once. I adore it and I think it's brilliant.