Virus
2.5/4
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Joanna Pacula, Donald Sutherland
Rated R for Sci-Fi Violence/Gore, and for Language
"Virus" is a guilty pleasure. The acting is weak, the dialogue is crap, the story is thin, and it's dumber than dumb, but it is sort of fun.
The crew of the salvage vessel Sea Star has been pulling a broken down barge through a hurricane. It's about to sink them as well, but the borderline psychotic captain Everton (Sutherland), has risked everything he has on the salvage, so he's not about to let the barge go down. Eventually, the chain breaks and he has no choice. His luck changes when he and the crew come across the Akademik Vladislav Volkov, a high-tech Russian military vessel. It's dead in the water, so salvaging it will make them stinking rich. But they're not alone on the ship. There's a terrified survivor, Nadia (Pacula), who informs them that an alien energy took over the ship via the Mir space station, and is building machines (including using human beings for spare parts) in order to kill everyone. Now the Sea Star's navigator Kit Foster (Curtis) and her few remaining crew members must figure out how to stop an invincible machine before it takes over the planet.
Jamie Lee Curtis famously trashed the film. I can see her point, although I don't necessarily agree with it. Sure, the reasons I listed above are absolutely true, but the film's action scenes are adequately intense, and the special effects are awesome. The robots look completely real, especially the merging of machines and humans. They're really cool.
The acting is lousy. If Jamie Lee Curtis hated the film so much, she has to lay at least part of the blame at herself. She's pretty bad, easily the worst performance I've ever seen her in. Actually, it's the only bad performance she's ever given. This partly has to do with the terrible dialogue she's been given, but still. William Baldwin apes his brother Alec. Donald Sutherland is just awful. He's played a wide range of characters, including psychos (such as in "Backdraft"), but here, he hams it up so much that he becomes annoying. The only one who gives a legitimate performance is Polish actress Joanna Pacula. She gives a good performance as the terrified survivor who grows a backbone.
"Virus" was directed by special effects wizard John Bruno. It was his first (and apart from two episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager," only) film, although he did co-direct the footage for the ride "T2-3D: Battle Across Time." His lack of experience shows. There are very few dynamic shots in this movie, it lacks atmosphere and the gunshots lack "boom;" they sound like cap guns.
I can't in good conscience recommend the film, because many people who are looking for a solid action-thriller won't find it. But, for those who like cheese, it's better than "Turbulence."
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Joanna Pacula, Donald Sutherland
Rated R for Sci-Fi Violence/Gore, and for Language
"Virus" is a guilty pleasure. The acting is weak, the dialogue is crap, the story is thin, and it's dumber than dumb, but it is sort of fun.
The crew of the salvage vessel Sea Star has been pulling a broken down barge through a hurricane. It's about to sink them as well, but the borderline psychotic captain Everton (Sutherland), has risked everything he has on the salvage, so he's not about to let the barge go down. Eventually, the chain breaks and he has no choice. His luck changes when he and the crew come across the Akademik Vladislav Volkov, a high-tech Russian military vessel. It's dead in the water, so salvaging it will make them stinking rich. But they're not alone on the ship. There's a terrified survivor, Nadia (Pacula), who informs them that an alien energy took over the ship via the Mir space station, and is building machines (including using human beings for spare parts) in order to kill everyone. Now the Sea Star's navigator Kit Foster (Curtis) and her few remaining crew members must figure out how to stop an invincible machine before it takes over the planet.
Jamie Lee Curtis famously trashed the film. I can see her point, although I don't necessarily agree with it. Sure, the reasons I listed above are absolutely true, but the film's action scenes are adequately intense, and the special effects are awesome. The robots look completely real, especially the merging of machines and humans. They're really cool.
The acting is lousy. If Jamie Lee Curtis hated the film so much, she has to lay at least part of the blame at herself. She's pretty bad, easily the worst performance I've ever seen her in. Actually, it's the only bad performance she's ever given. This partly has to do with the terrible dialogue she's been given, but still. William Baldwin apes his brother Alec. Donald Sutherland is just awful. He's played a wide range of characters, including psychos (such as in "Backdraft"), but here, he hams it up so much that he becomes annoying. The only one who gives a legitimate performance is Polish actress Joanna Pacula. She gives a good performance as the terrified survivor who grows a backbone.
"Virus" was directed by special effects wizard John Bruno. It was his first (and apart from two episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager," only) film, although he did co-direct the footage for the ride "T2-3D: Battle Across Time." His lack of experience shows. There are very few dynamic shots in this movie, it lacks atmosphere and the gunshots lack "boom;" they sound like cap guns.
I can't in good conscience recommend the film, because many people who are looking for a solid action-thriller won't find it. But, for those who like cheese, it's better than "Turbulence."
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