Virus

I love cheesy underrated movies like this! It really is like a mix of X-Files, Alien, Robocop, and Terminator. Loaded with an awesome cast and some ridiculous mindless writing not meant to be taken seriously. Sci-Fi like this really should be appreciated more!

A mediocre storyline (i.e. Titanic) can become a world class film with character development, believable dialogue, and, for lack of a better word, some Hollywood magic. This film could have been a blockbuster with less action, less noise, less effects and more humans being human. Look at 2001 A Space Odyssey, Jaws, Titanic and countless other films, and you'll see that the story was about as interesting as Virus, and the actors, equally talented. Virus failed to deliver characters that we could believe and identify with.

I still recommend this film highly, as its interesting, it contains Jamie Lee Curtis (a hottie) and Donald Sutherland (a 20th century legend), lots of effects and action. In a way its sort of fun to watch quality actors attempt to make the best of horrible dialogue.

A 7 out of 10 for storyline and casting

I've heard people trash this movie left and right yet I found that it kept my attention for the duration of it's running time and all the technical aspects were top-notch (especially Tippett Studio's CGI realization of Goliath). The characters weren't great and weren't bad either. Sure, we've seen it all before in other films but I have little hope of finding a film that's completely original. Frankly, I got about what I expected out of it - motion picture fastfood. You enjoy it as you take it in and digest it and forget about it after you leave the theater. It's just entertainment and not bad for what it is. Unlike LOST IN SPACE or BATMAN AND ROBIN, this film isn't boring. It moves at a quick enough pace to where you don't find yourself checking your watch all the time. I'm not sure what the deal was with Donald Sutherland's character who displays no sense of logic whatsoever. Had they dropped the stuff with his character, it would've helped the film. If you're bored, check it out. It's worth at least one viewing.

Don't take this movie too seriously, and Virus is actually an enjoyable romp, that pays homage, excuse me, rips off many venerable movies from the same and similar genres.

It starts of as an X-Files episode, turns into The Perfect Storm, Sutherland is clearly inspired by mad Quint in Jaws, then the movie becomes Johnny 2.0 meets Robocop and Alien II.

The drawbacks are of course obvious - the Life Form behaves more like a space moron, than a higher form of intelligence. If it was the latter, it would simply have the entire crew set port in Australia and have taken it from there. Instead, the "humans are viruses" approach simply brings it down. Bummer. Billions of miles of space travel, and it gets bested by the motley crew of a tugboat with a demented skipper.

Anyway, 21 years after Halloween, Jamie Lee still looks delectable with a perfect figure. The rest of the crew are funny and charming, in a forgettable way. Sutherland puts in the best acting he has in years, which isn't saying too much as he has been phoning his performances in since JFK.

Anyway, this movie is low on originality, but if you like the genres above, it is a pretty nice diversion.

"The Terminator" meets "The Predator" and "Alien", and what we get is this routine but moderately effective horror thriller, which isn't quite as bad as its reputation might lead you to believe. Sure, it lacks substance and (except for a few details)originality, but the energetic direction, the fast pacing and some impressively filmed explosions keep it painless. Effects aren't particularly outstanding, though.