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Truly Dreadful Film

Too much of everything

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This film centers on a virus that is made by the American military and then stolen by the East Germans. On the flight from East Germany to Zurich the plane crashes which releases the virus into the atmosphere resulting in a devastating world-wild contagion. Although incredibly deadly the virus has one major flaw in that it goes dormant in freezing conditions. As a result, the people living in Antarctica are saved from its contamination provided they don't allow any infected people from the outside world in. So over 850 men and 8 women are essentially cut off from everybody else. At any rate, this is a decent post-apocalyptic film with an all-star cast. Unfortunately, except for a very few actors, none of them had the allocated screen time to really establish themselves and develop their characters. This gave the film a "paint-by-numbers" feel which I thought damaged the overall effect. Additionally, from what I understand there is a long version of this movie available which is supposedly much better than the shorter version I happened to view. If that is the case then that probably explains some of the scenes which looked like they had been cut which contributed to the choppy effect I described earlier. In any case, while the 108 minute version is okay it might be better to obtain the longer version if possible--if for no other reason than the fact that the story might flow a bit more smoothly and the actors can showcase their talents a bit more.

"Virus" and "The day after" are two of the eighties apocalyptic movies that had a point of melancholy. Main characters have no political focus, and mass destruction features are far away from the actual interests of people, but people die because of these features. At all, no one earns anything with the annihilation of people.In the other side, "Virus" has scenes that attempt to be quite profound. Are actually so profound? I'm not sure.However, I assume there is a memorable conversation in the movie. The matter is that the conversation is in Japanese. Could anyone offer us an English (or Spanish) translation of the full conversation in the deserted church? At the end of the movie, the main character comes in a church (presumed in South America) and has a mute conversation (subtitled in Japanese) with a Christ in a dropped cross, and with two corpses. I have down loaded the 153 minutes version (basically English spoken) and cannot understand the Japanese subtitles of that conversation. Almost 25 years ago, I watched this movie at my home TV, in a Beta video case. I enjoyed extremely and remember that conversation perhaps one the best moments of the story, with the very beginning (February 1982, snowy scene with the professor who stoled the MM88). 25 years ago, in the Beta edition at my home, I listened to the Spanish translation (not a mute, but a spoken conversation), and perhaps with English subtitles. I loved that scene.

If I recall my childhood correctly, "Virus" got ample play on Saturday-afternoon television, and a scene of a military man with metal protruding from his chest has always stuck with me. So, imagine my delight when, probably more than 15 years later, I got a chance to finally view the film again. But this is problematic, since the version I watched was the 103-minute U.S. cut (the scene I remember remained intact, albeit less impressive now). In any case, "Virus" is a pretty good apocalyptic thriller--the opening 30 minutes in Washington, DC were especially gripping, and the subsequent action at an Antarctic outpost (where remaining world officials are holing up) was fittingly bleak (not to mention talky at times). The film contains an impressive cast of pseudo-familiar faces (Glenn Ford, George Kennedy, Chuck Connors, Olivia Hussey, etc.) that sell the story due to their 'every(wo)man' appearance. While the plot occasionally trots out sci-fi gimmickry (last-minute plague vaccinations), the grim imagery matched with a taut story make "Virus" a fine--if very downbeat--end-of-civilization fable.

"Virus" is a earnest attempt to chronicle an apocalypse, perhaps for cautionary as well as artistic and financial intentions. Unfortunately, the producers made many mistakes which seriously undercut their efforts. The result is a boring, sometimes tedious 2 ½ hour movie about a very important subject, i.e., gene splicing and the possible consequences of misuse as a biological weapon. This is doubly a shame, as "Virus" was especially timely, coming at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Although the fictional virus functioned in a slightly different manner, had AIDS been an airborne, highly infectious agent, the disastrous consequences could have been exactly the same.The first serious mistake was the use of flashback at the beginning of the film. Given that there is very little action in "Virus," the use of flashback undercuts any element of suspense, at least during the first hour.The second serious mistake was placing the disaster so near in the future (1982-83). Had the movie been a hit, it would barely have been out of the theaters before it was out of date.The third serious mistake was casting actors well known for action films. Casting actors such as Chuck Connors, Bo Swenson, Sonny Chiba and Henry Silva creates anticipation for action which rarely happens. Glenn Ford, Robert Vaughn and, to a lesser extent, George Kennedy are effective in their small, but pivotal roles. However, all three of these stars are as associated with dramas as with action films. The beautiful Olivia Hussey is decorative, but too matter-of-fact for a character who be troubled and conflicted. However, it was a special treat seeing a very young Edward James Olmos; he was effective in his few scenes. Just don't ask him to sing.The fourth serious mistake was not hiring a skilled second unit director versed in English. Many of the English-speaking actors overact; and, when there is this much overacting, it's the fault of the director. Given the sensitive manner of the scenes in which the actors spoke Japanese, I'm guessing the director was not well versed in English.The fifth serious mistake was the phony looking "Oval Office" set. Since much of the drama takes place in the "Oval Office," great pains should have been taken to create a more realistic atmosphere.WARNING: SPOILERThe sixth serious mistake involved the "ARS". anyone even remotely familiar with US defenses would know Silva would not be able to activate the "ARS" alone. US "Fail Safe" systems always require two individuals and an activation code. This would have been a very simple fix, and the mistake is compounded by allowing Silva to cackle like a villain in a bad melodrama.If the first two hours of "Virus" were simply boring, the last 30 minutes is downright tedious, despite a whole 7 minutes of mild action, the first since the first half hour. When a film this dull runs over two hours, all the earlier irritants become even more noticeable. Everything from the sappy music to Chuck Connors' terrible British accent and Bo Svenson's "Buford Pusser" haircut brings great irritation. Worse, the last 30 minutes is laughably absurd, asking us to believe an "above top secret" weapons control center can be breached as easily as an office building. Such a command center would have its own air supply and decontamination center, making it as safe as Connors' nuclear submarine. By the way, hasn't anyone ever heard of HAZMAT suits? After all, this movie was made nearly ten years after "The Andromeda Strain." However, the most laughably absurd element is expecting us to believe the Japanese scientist could escape on foot from "ground zero" of an all-out nuclear war and find, several thousand miles later, a colony of two dozen or so people, when he hasn't a clue where they are going to settle. END OF SPOILERKeep in mind, the dreadful "Virus" cost nearly as much as "The Empire Strikes Back," and all the producers have to show for the effort is some beautiful photography. "Virus" is just one more piece of evidence than good intentions don't necessarily make good movies. I give "Virus" a "3".