Review of The Andromeda Strain (1971) by Mark H — 03 Jun 2008

While the story and the writing is certainly top notch, it is Robert Wise's superb direction that is the key to what makes this film so wonderfully suspenseful. The pacing, the tight angles and the flow of this film make it incredibly effective as a science fiction thriller. It hardly feels like it's over 2 hours as the pacing is relentless from the word go. Once you know what is going on (which takes place in the first 5 minutes) the story just moves right ahead.

Michael Crichton's stories are often very science heavy, but with good reason. Unlike many of his novel to film adaptations, this one works simply because it comes across as so very authentic. It lets the audience believe that they are seeing not some big fancy invention, but rather are taking part in something that could be going on at this very moment.

My only real problem with the film is the conclusion. The final scene comes off as too much after-school-special in the question it puts forth. This is probably more a sign of the time it was made rather than a bad directing choice, as this type of ending became much more common in the mid 80's, almost a decade and a half after this film was made. Still, for those who like intellectual science fiction and biological terror films such as Outbreak, this one will be right up your alley.