Outbreak

Yeah I bet you can guess why I watched this movie Did I intend to watch this movie? No. Was it apparently the #9 spot on Netflix most popular list? Yes. So did I have to watch it? Probably not. But given the coronavirus going around, I’m 100% sure that’s why the movie is this popular. So I thought might as well and watch the thing. Overview: A deadly disease is affecting villages in Africa as Colonel Sam Daniels and his crew is sent there to assest the situation. Unfortunately, due to external factors, the disease has spread to America, and to a small Californian town. With time running out as the disease spreads and evolves, Daniels fights the odds to find a vaccine before it is too late.

Not gonna lie, when I put it on I wasn’t like 100% focused on it. It was just supposed to be background. But it just sort of…sucked me in as it went on. Especially with that opening of the original virus just killing the soldiers. Also, that’s Morgan Freeman. You can’t just ignore Morgan Freeman! (Also, it’s sort of gotten to the point where all I can see is just Morgan Freeman and not his character.) All the characters were really cool to watch, but I didn’t really care of the divorce side plot. Or, I didn’t at the beginning? It’s hard to describe because I’ve seen that trope of “main protag who is divorced with wife ends up reconciling at the end” in a ton of movies. Even in movies that didn’t actually need divorced couples (looking at you 2012 and War of the Worlds remake). So I saw what was happening a mile away. But it, wasn’t as bad as I thought. Like, Dr. Roberta Keough had her own life and her own work at the CDC, so she had her own reasons to work on the virus. Which, made it work I think. Because she wasn’t constantly forced to be with Sam, it was just part happenstance and part trust.

It was actually really cool that the movie also showed us how the virus spread. They could have just had the virus appeared in California and had the virologists (look I learned a new word) find out the cause. But instead, it showed the whole path with the monkey, and what was going on with the monkey. The movie could have had it add more of a mystery, but by showing the monkey it added more tension! While the scientists were trying to manage the situation, it’s just in the back of your mind “it’s the monkey, where’s the monkey, that monkey is the key”. So not only are you stressing about the monkey, but whether or not they are going to find the monkey.

The virus was also, pretty scary. Like not only did they show the scientific view of how the virus adapts and grows, but also the plan of defense against said virus. You get to see the different levels of clearance the virologists go through with each virus, the level of security and safety they take to protect themselves against said viruses. I mean, they take it to extreme when things really heat up, but it’s nice to get an idea as to how procedure really would happen. image

The movie had some really good military and political critiques too. Like when is the line to draw to follow orders, does power go to your head, when is it right to give all the information and when is it to keep secrets. There was a really great scene where the PR for the white house basically said “if you guys want the president to take the nuclear option, you ALL need to give him your support, to show that there wasn’t any other way otherwise it wouldn’t work.” And part of it is, you can empathize with these people in these positions. You might not like the decisions they take, but you can understand why they took them. This was my first virus disaster film, and given the current climate here with the coronavirus, I’m glad I watched it. It sort of, I don’t know, gives you hope? Like things are scary, and this virus is hurting a lot of people. But there are a lot more people working hard on a vaccine to beat this. Scientists, Governments, everyone doing their part. Like, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. It might take a while, and it’s going to be scary, but we will get there. Stay safe out there