Outbreak (1995)

[6]

Dustin Hoffman and Renee Russo star as an estranged married couple both working government jobs in the area of infectious disease control. When a fast-acting deadly virus begins spreading in America, the two find themselves working together to control the spread and locate the source of the outbreak — an African monkey let loose in suburban California. The screenwriters weave in a layer of government conspiracy played out by Donald Sutherland and Morgan Freeman in supporting roles.

Director Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot, Air Force One) presents Outbreak very much as a fast-moving thriller — so much so that the attempts to bring depth and complexity to Hoffman’s and Russo’s characters only seem to get in the way. I love these two actors, but their subplot of falling back in love during the crisis is ultimately limp and cloying. Sutherland’s and Freeman’s interactions also borderline on annoying at times. It’s as if someone wrote a great plot-driven screenplay, but then in order to get an A-list cast, rewrites became necessary to flesh out the characters. I wonder if Outbreak wouldn’t have been better if it embraced its plot-driven nature and played itself out with relatively unknown actors.

While it’s not quite what I’d have preferred it to be, Outbreak has its moments when it operates on a macro level, when it’s humankind versus the virus rather than husband against wife. James Newton Howard keeps the momentum going with a solid action movie score, and co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. makes the most of his role as Hoffman’s right-hand man. With Kevin Spacey and Patrick Dempsey.