You have to respect viruses. These things are the killer sharks of the microscopic world, insidious, darn near indestructible little buggers who destroy every cell in their path. They don't clock out after eight hours or nap away afternoon breaks; these things never stop or rest. The subject of Outbreak is a very special virus borne in the wilds of Africa, an unmatched destructive force that can kill a man (in the most horrible of ways) in a matter of hours. It's like nothing ever seen before - well, actually, it was seen in 1967, but the powers that be took their little secret home with them in a vial and firebombed all the evidence of its existence (along with a significant number of innocent human beings). Now, the virus is back; not only is it back, it is in America - brought to these shores in the form of a poor little monkey taken from its home and illegally smuggled into this country. Our government and in particular our military faces an invisible enemy that can destroy the nation and everyone in it in a matter of days. If and when such a virus outbreak does take place here, let us all fervently hope that our government performs much better than they do in this movie.

Dustin Hoffman plays Col. Sam Daniels of the USAMRIID, a noble man who did not forget his Hippocratic Oath when he became an army officer. He and his crew, including Major Schuler (Kevin Spacey) and new team member Major Salt (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), in conjunction with Daniels' ex-wife, former co-worker, and new bigwig at the CDC Robby Keough (Rene Russo) are basically the only people in the government more concerned with saving lives than with protecting military secrets. Daniels' boss is Brigadier General Ford (Morgan Freeman), a frustrating player in these events who knows things about the virus he is forbidden (and does not want to) admit, but the true villain of this tale is Maj. General Donald McClintock (played to a slimy tee by Donald Sutherland). Daniels and his fellow heroes rush to help the dying and to battle this awful virus, constantly stymied and eventually gravely threatened by military superiors who care more about protecting the secret of a biological weapon than about the people they pledged themselves to defend and protect.

The things you see in this film are quite possible, and that is what makes it such a gripping, even frightening film. While the audience is never treated to a true gross-out shot of what this super duper hemorrhagic virus can do to a human body, the horror is nevertheless quite real. The heroism of Daniels and Salt in particular isn't limited to the hospitals and labs; they take on the government and the military itself in an effort to save lives. The one critical information source the medical team needs is the host organism. The original carrier who brought the virus to America's shores represents the only real hope of saving a whole town and very possibly the entire nation. This virus has a 100% kill rate; no one survives it.

Well over two hours of increasingly adrenaline-pumping suspense await the viewer of Outbreak. This movie will hold you completely under its spell and leave a definite impression on you for some time to come. It is a rare joy to see Hollywood take on a very serious issue and deal with it in a realistic fashion, and few movies can boast the caliber of talent that you will find here. One or two of the leading actors in this modern thriller can carry a movie on their own, but here a whole range of Hollywood's best come together to make a movie that succeeds perfectly. As far as I'm concerned, Outbreak is a must-see motion picture.


Very Very Intertaining   August 12, 2003
 10 out of 11 found this review helpful

This movie is one of the best and most underated movies I seen. The basic storyline is a virus starts off like many others. The main character (Dustin Hoffman) has a hunch that this virus can be very serious, and turns out being so. From here the movie took off and just got better and better. During the last 40 minutes of the movie, I was so stuck in it, I don't think I moved the entire time. This movie is a rare must see. One reason I liked it so much is that the concept of the movie just got you thinking. Can't say it enough, it's a great movie!


Casualties of War.   March 13, 2004
 9 out of 12 found this review helpful

"In war, truth is the first casualty." - Aeschylus.

In 1989, a secret U.S. Army SWAT team was called in after an Ebola outbreak among monkeys in a Reston, VA lab; a mere ten miles from Washington, D.C. They eventually determined that this particular strain wasn't contagious for humans - others, however, are; capable of producing a 90% mortality rate within a matter of days. The incident produced Richard Preston's bestselling book "The Hot Zone," on which this movie is loosely based (another project involving Robert Redford and Jodie Foster eventually folded).

Like the Reston Ebola strain, the (fictitious) Motaba virus at the center of Wolfgang Petersen's "Outbreak" is brought to the U.S. by an infected monkey, caught near a village in the Zairean (now: Congolese) Motaba Valley. Unlike the Reston Ebola it is contagious for humans, with a 100% mortality rate within a single day. And unlike any known Ebola strain it is airborne, i.e. not only transmitted by direct human-to-human contact.

Officially nobody has any prior knowledge of the virus at the time of its apparent first hit. In fact, once they've overcome their shock about its gruesome effects, USAMRIID Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) and his assistants, Majors Schuler and Salt (Kevin Spacey and Cuba Gooding Jr.) - in Zaire to provide medical assistance - are downright ecstatic to have discovered a new virus; a once-in-a-lifetime event for most scientists, if it happens at all. What they don't know is that their own superiors, Brig.Gen. Billy Ford (Morgan Freeman) and Maj.Gen. Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland) have encountered this virus before, albeit non-airborne, in a mercenary camp in 1967 ... and on McClintock's orders, firebombed the camp to secretly develop a biological weapon. Now McClintock insists that their knowledge remain secret even after a first Motaba outbreak in Boston, brought about by the Californian animal lab worker (Patrick Dempsey) who has unwittingly smuggled the carrier monkey out to sell it to a pet store; and after another outbreak in Cedar Creek, CA, transmitted through the pet store owner and a lab technician infected by his blood. McClintock's solution is the same as 30 years earlier: Firebomb the contaminated area and everybody in it, keep your weapon and be done with it.

But unlike 1967, complete secrecy is no longer an option, as not only Colonel Daniels's team but also his ex-wife Robby (Rene Russo), who is now with the CDC and has helped contain the Boston outbreak, is aware of the virus's presence. Thus, McClintock opts for the reverse strategy, obtains a presidential OK for his "Operation Clean Sweep" - after a dramatic presentation to the assembled cabinet resulting in the conclusion that the "bug" is capable of spreading to the entire country, including D.C., within a mere 48 hours; and the admonishment "Be compassionate, but be compassionate globally" - and orders Ford to get Daniels out of the way and keep him "in line."

Daniels, however, who has long earned a reputation for following orders rather selectively, rushes to Cedar Creek, to work alongside Robby and her team trying to contain the virus. In short order Ford and McClintock show up as well, and soon the town is crawling with soldiers, who seal it off to the outside world and implement a curfew, to prevent a further spread of the virus but also in preparation of "Operation Clean Sweep." A frantic race ensues; pitting Daniels and Salt, who set out to search for the host animal to develop an antiserum, against their own comrades.

The premise of "Outbreak" is entirely believable; as evidenced by the 1989 Virginia incident - after all, it was mere luck that the Reston strain didn't prove contagious for humans - and by the fact that, as is public knowledge, various kinds of viral strains do exist in the U.S. and other countries; at the very least for experimental purposes. While their military use is banned under the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, there still is no functioning control mechanism in place (which was/is also a factor in the Iraq WMD debate). And although the U.S. is a signatory to both aforementioned instruments and has previously stated its non-use policy, the Bush government abandoned international discussions on the issue in 2001.

So, "Outbreak" addresses enormously important concerns; and it does so compellingly and with a stellar cast. Dustin Hoffman imbues his Colonel Daniels with tremendous compassion but also a great sense of humor; and his snappy exchanges with Russo's Robby Keough and his team are a delight, especially those with Kevin Spacey, who in 1995 burst into movie audiences' collective awareness with this film, the Oscar-winning "Usual Suspects" and "Se7en." Morgan Freeman brings all his sensitivity to the movie's most intricate role, General Ford, who is caught between being party to McClintock's scheme and realizing its profound immorality. Then-27-year-old Cuba Gooding Jr. may have been a bit young to play a Major, but he certainly stands his ground; and few actors can portray a villain as menacingly as Donald Sutherland, although the script gives him little opportunity for true complexity.

Unfortunately, "Outbreak" gets the full "Hollywood thriller" treatment, complete with dramatic score, two-dimensional villain, cliched ending and reliance on a few coincidences too many. This (and some plot inconsistencies) somewhat reduces its effect, preventing a good movie from becoming a truly great one - although its 'copter chases are pure eye candy; and it certainly helps that they were shot by Michael Ballhaus, arguably the business's best cameraman. But for the importance of its subject alone, and its outstanding cast, "Outbreak" is worth all the notice it has received.

"[The Cedar Creek population] are casualties of war. ... I'd give them all a medal if I could. But they *are* casualties of war." - "Outbreak," Maj.Gen. Donald McClintock.

"[N]o massacre has occurred ... no further action is warranted." - From the initial Department of the Army investigation report on the March 16, 1968 My Lai incident (Vietnam).

Also recommended:
The Hot Zone: A Terrifying True Story
Ebola: Through the Eyes of the People
Virus
12 Monkeys (Special Edition)
The China Syndrome (Special Edition)


Excellent action/drama with brilliant cast !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   September 1, 1999
 5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is a stunning movie, especially if you watch it on a good AC-3 5.1 system. The movie opens with a tranquil jungle scene. The birds are twittering in the dense foliage and you feel as though you have entered a beautiful and peaceful utopia (At least your guests think so. Little do they know that you have set your subwoofer volume control to just past twelve o'clock because you know what's to come next). Suddenly the silence is shattered by a mortar bomb flying past your head and plummeting into the centre of your screen followed by rapid machine-gun fire. Outbreak has just begun and now you have to leave your guests to go to the kitchen and fetch a bowl of water and a cloth to wipe up the coffee off your new leather lounge suite that's just been messed on. This is a great story and Dustin Hoffman is the perfect man for the job of defeating our 'small enemies' amidst all the opposition. You must get this on DVD though to really appreciate the theatre experience.


A superbly mounted, unconventional thriller!   August 4, 2001
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

When we hear the word "virus," we tend to think of something minute, something in connection to a computer meltdown or the spreading of the common cold among humans. The thought never even crosses our minds that a virus can be more than just the flu: it can possess the ability to spread in various, sometimes undetectable ways, expand at an alarmingly fast rate, and most frightening, it can be as fatal as a gunshot wound.

If you must see one science fiction film this year, treat yourself to "Outbreak," a finely-tuned thriller about a virus that is transported to the United States and begins wiping out a small town in California. There's a great deal of various plot factors that the film explores in excruciating detail, while tightening each one with subtly effective suspense. Combined with some very entertaining performances and a director who knows what he's doing, "Outbreak" becomes a powerful thriller.

Dustin Hoffman is cast as Sam Daniels, who, as an expert in microorganisms and viruses, works in the army for prevention of spreading diseases. His ex-wife, Robby Keough (Rene Russo), has just moved to Atlanta to work for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Everything is going as normal until Sam is called to duty in Zaire, where a disease is rapidly wiping out a small native town. Along with Major Salt (Cuba Gooding, Jr), and Major Casey Schuler (Kevin Spacey), they make their way down there, only to discover, to their dismay, just how quickly the disease has acted on everyone.

And that's not all. A ship carrying wild animals from foreign countries and continents arrives in San Francisco, where a smuggler named Jimbo (Patrick Dempsey) carries an African monkey to a pet store for trade. Unbeknownst to him or anyone else who comes in contact with the host animal, they all begin contracting severe colds which progress into something much worse, a fatal virus that liquefies the inner organs until death occurs.

And it's quite disturbing to see how easily spread the virus is, originating in Africa, making its way to the west coast of the United States, and then progressing by human contact, taking more and more lives as it grows rapidly. Jimbo flies to Boston, where a small outbreak soon becomes contained thanks to CDC's efforts. But a much larger outbreak is at work in a small Californian town, and as the virus soon adapts the ability to be contracted by air, the tension begins.

The movie is a suspense thriller of the highest rate, a cutting-edge drama with suspense to spare. The drama lies with the unfolding of the human story behind the widespread disease. Families are seen torn apart as stricken members must leave for quarantine. The citizens of the town rebel at the thought of being confined, while the army and those who work diligently to stop the spreading of the bug must deal with the death that surrounds them everyday.

The suspense, however, lies with the progression of the disease, and a mystery surrounding the discovery of a secret antiserum. The virus is shown traveling through air in a sneeze at the movies, circulating amongst the crowd; the very thought of these germs is enough to cringe. It makes you think about just how many germs actually do invade your body each day. Sam's discovery of the antiserum to the virus leads to some shocking revelations concerning his superiors, General Billy Ford (Morgan Freeman) and General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland), and testament on how far any country will go for biological power.

This is also the first movie to come along in a good deal of time that makes you consider the many different situations from your own point of view. It poses many opposing viewpoints: quarantining the town or destroying it, citizens and all, to keep the virus from spreading across the country; introducing a serum you know you have, or keeping it hidden from public view in order that you may have superiority in the advancement of biological weapons (at one point, McClintock refers to the dying patients as "casualties of war"). With this film, you can actually see yourself in the same situations, and given the choices you have, sometimes the decision is not an easy one to make.

At just about every turn in the film, a new star pops into view. It's a movie full of star power, but it uses it casually and to its advantage. Dustin Hoffman is in fine form as the well-educated and intuitive Sam, while Rene Russo is as convincing in her performance as Robby. Kevin Spacey is a smash as the comic relief Schuler, sarcastic and witty to the final credits, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. sells us on his determination and stamina as Salt. Morgan Freeman is back in one of his infrequent bad-guy roles, though his good-guy qualities get the better of him. Donald Sutherland is devilishly cunning as McClintock, making him the ultimate despicable character. And, it must be said, that J.T. Walsh gives one of the best performances of his career, as the Chief of Staff who must introduce the idea of eliminating the town to the President's advisory panel.

After seeing this film, I'll never sneeze again. It has such a tremendous effect on you, one that forces you to follow its story, and then forces you to think about what you have just seen. It's a drama of surprising proportions. "Outbreak" is like the very virus it portrays: it begins with small twists and turns, and as time goes on, it expands into a very effective film.