Outbreak

directed by Wolfgang Pterson

starring Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Rene Russo

playing at Sony Fresh Pond

"Outbreak" in an African military camp in 1967. We wonder if we're in the right movie, but this is Warner Brother's new "medical thriller." "Outbreak" takes the most traditional thriller plot (good guy vs. bad guy trying to take over the world) and makes a virus the bad guy.

Motaba is the most deadly virus ever conceived by Hollywood. Brought over from Africa by a smuggled monkey, the virus has the capacity to decimate internal organs within hours, and spread to the entire United States within days. Dr. Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) and Dr. Roberta Keough (Rene Russo) are the doctors in charge of containing and finding a cure for this dread disease.

The story centers around the Motaba epidemic which begins in a pet store. We watch as the whole town is cut off from contact and placed under military rule.

Dustin Hoffman has the job of fighting the virus, saving the country, getting the girl and single handedly taking on the American military. With two Oscars we know Hoffman is capable of great things and he does not let the audience down.

The cast is strong enough to pull off what would seem the impossible--resurrecting the movie from pure medical melodrama.

Morgan Freeman is excellent as Hoffman's supervisor torn between ethics and orders, as they try to contain the virus.

Opposing Freeman and Hoffman, is Donald Sutherland who gives an incredibly convincing performance as an inhuman, power-hungry general seemingly untouched by terror and suffering. To him, the infected are simply "casualties of war."

Rene Russo struggles with a weak character, and gratuitous romance plot. Director Wolfgang Peterson apparently felt compelled to broaden the appeal of the movie beyond science and the military with a love story, Unfortunately, he doesn't pull it off-the romance is forced and convenient.

Patrick Dempsey is wonderful as the virus' first victim, a Generation X kid trying to make a buck by bending the rules and smuggling the monkey to sell as a pet.

The movie is at its best when the disease first reaches the U.S. and we watch it attack the first victims. The initial cases are clever and funny, sparking curiosity as to the direction of the disease.

The movie's frequently plausible situations make the viewer uncomfortable. Motaba, the incurable, fatal African disease brought over by a monkey, can't be laughed off. Nor can scenes of the town's isolation under martial law. The formerly bucolic Cedar Creek is surrounded with barbed wire. Heavily guarded "camps" are constructed in which people march in, and emerge as corpses. The final solution for dealing with the infected, and thus incurable, is also disturbing--bomb them and destroy the virus.

"Outbreak" is innovative as it strives to confront issues and find a new setting for a traditional plot. Combined with the strong acting and fast pace, it is enjoyable to watch. Efforts at comedy are transparent, but effectively distracting. Sit back and watch "Outbreak," but don't stop and think or you'll probably be disappointed.