Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fantastic!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I like the premise of this film, but it's not executed well. Uncontrollable viruses that decimate populations and spread with deadly virulence just make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, or maybe that's just the internal bleeding. Regardless, I was left hanging by a fairly unoriginal disaster movie.Plot holes, cheesy action sequences and unrealistic depictions of human behavior during an outbreak aside, the film managed to keep my attention for two hours, though this wasn't necessarily a good thing. I found myself truly watching this movie from the outside looking in, because I didn't feel a part of what was going on on screen, and I should have.I generally disliked some of the actors working in this film to begin with, but watching this film now, even if they may have provided fair performances, I can't connect or sympathize with their characters. Their ability as actors to transform into someone I care about, relate to or believe in has been diminished or overshadowed by their personal reputations.All in all, I would not watch this film again as it has nothing more to offer and was not particularly enjoyable, scary or believable.

Medical pandemic disaster movies has always been scary to me. There is a certain fear that come with movies, dealing with a deadly virus outbreak that is untreatable, and threatens the whole world's population. It's a terrifying thought. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen and loosely based on Richard Preston's nonfiction book, 'The Hot Zone', this film gives that, what-if fictional scenario; a name, 'Motaba'. Inspired by then recent real-life Ebola outbreaks, and speculating on the measures taken by the military and the Center for Disease Control if such an outbreak occurred in the United States, Petersen hope to capture those fears, and challenge it, into a compelling entertaining watch. For the most part, he and his crew kinda pull it off. The cinematography from Michael Ballhaus, the music by James Newton Howard and the makeup department, led by Ellis Burman Jr were amazing. For the most part, even the acting, was very good, throughout this film. In spite of Kevin Spacey rocking the worst dyed wig, ever. Even the capuchin, Binks was great as the disease carrier, Betsy the monkey. It's just funny, how often, people mistake her for another monkey, Katie. Katie as Marcel is the one that was mock with the fake "Outbreak 2: The Virus Takes Manhattan" poster in the 1990's sitcom 'Friends', not Binks. I don't blame people, for not knowing the different, between the monkeys, after all, the producers didn't. In the end, they all deliver us from Ebola. Without spoiling the movie, too much, there were only a few things that I didn't like, about this film. Most of them, had to do with the inconsistencies on the effects of this disease. Don't get me wrong, I like the way, they describe the virus, as something that will liquefying the internal organs of its victims. However, it's seem to me, that the illness, only turns rapidly and deadly, whenever the film calls for it to act. How on earth can some sick characters only look a bit feverish, pale and dried out, while the other characters has blood streaming from their eyes, nose and mouth, skin destroyed, during the same stage. It's make no sense. Yes, I understand, some bodies might have stronger phagocyte cells than others, but it doesn't explain, how accidentally sticking yourself with a contaminated needle is less severe than breathing in the inflection, due to a small rip in a hazmat suit. According to the head of epidemiology at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, it's very unrealistic; as there is fewer cases of researcher dying from breathing in an inflection, than those who die, due to direct contact with blood, excretions or saliva. Another thing, I didn't like, about this film is the ability of the scientists in the film, being able to solve most of the illness in a few hours. It seem a bit, impractical. In real-life, vaccine research, often takes months, or even years. Even with that, the only reason, why the scientists work so hard, toward the end, was to save the main character, Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman)'s marital troubles. It's kinda shallow, when you think, deep about it. I really didn't think the movie, needed to add that romantic subplot with Rene Russo's character, Roberta "Robby" Keough. It felt, a bit distracting. Another thing, I didn't like is how the film morphs from a medical thriller into another generic government covert military conspiracy action movie. I don't mind, the whole firebomb subplot, but the idea, it was used before in the town of Motaba, and nobody knows about it, is hard to believe. Are we to believe that nobody from Zaire know about this!? Did they do no research on where this disease, came from!? Come on! Also, how in the hell did the US able to bomb another African country's army base, anyways!? Wouldn't that be, an act of war!? Anyways, the idea of the military wanted to use Motaba, as a biological weapon should had been cut out, because adding an over the top stereotypical villain like Major General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland), really took away, some of the deadliness effects of the disease. For the last part, it felt like, a different movie, with the long-drawn helicopter chase, jumping into a moving ship, and hijacking a news outlet. It was eating a lot of time that could had made the disease even scarier. Despite that, the movie does have some very frightful moments. The idea that the disease was exposed to others in a movie theater, must had really scare those audience members who came to the theaters to see this movie. However, there is one scene that really disturbed me. All of the scenes with 'Sample 612' were haunting, due to how heartbreaking, it was. It made for a very intense watch. Overall: While, it does have a few flaws throughout the film. Don't avoided this film like the plague. Go see it. It might not be a great film, but it's entertaining enough to overlook it flaws. Highly recommended.

so we have a film that the virus is the star but the cast is superb carrying a deadly virus that had no known cure so deadly that it causes severe bleeding and liquefies internal organs, killing within 3 days. with The film cast includes four Oscar winners: Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey' and Cuba Gooding Jr.. so in 60s in Zaire In a valley called motaba valley where a river was there were little monkeysThe virus kills everyone wipes out Motaba River Valley so with the army dropping a Hugh fireball bomb in order to get rid of the..Extreme measures are necessary to contain an epidemic of a deadly airborne virus. But how extreme, exactly? so in order to study the virus we in a laboratory in fort detrick study all disease where see .27 years later, there is another outbreak in Zaire in 1994, there is another outbreak in Motaba River Valley. At the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), located at Fort Detrick in Maryland,.Dustin Hoffman plays a feisty virologist Colonel Sam Daniels is doing research on the Motaba virus, and so is his ex-wife Roberta Keough, who works at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. A monkey carrying the Motaba virus stows away on a boat illegal carried for a pet shop owner jumbo played by a young Patrick Dempsey gets sick from being in contact with the monkey and because it airborne the the virus spread rapidly so when doctors don't know whats going the call every one Rene Russo plays acharacter called Robby Keough as love interest to Hoffman's character she study all these diseases she is given a good script a another young cast member Kevin Spacy is brilliant is a doctor with a wicked sense of humour but the two main characters who have their finger on the trigger literally they play off each other Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland seem to be having fun with the material and things they are the good and the bad but the two Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland seem to be having fun with the material and things get interested when they clash at the end. The film,is thrilling (e.g a spectacular helicopter chase and an attempt to break out of the quarantined town in California two generals there's going to be conflicts as when one finds away to help people they clash as when Cuba gooding character major salt helps out with Sam's ideas they have to evade every one and anyone to get what they want including get in the way of direct orders gets on board with and get interested when they clash at the end. But overall this film is brilliant, I strongly advise everyone tries to watch this. it isn't everyone's cup of tea but is still a brilliant edge of the seat

If you've ever taken a science class, avoid this movie. It starts out alright but quickly devolves into Hollywood level knowledge of diseases and pathogens. It is an embarrassment. This movie had so much potential and fell so short. I'm sorry, but you just don't find a host, extract its blood, create a serum, manufacture hundreds of liters in a matter of an hour, and administer it to hundreds of patients. Things just don't work that way.With that said, there are more frustrating things about this film. For instance: How did they know that the monkey was the host? They hadn't even drawn its blood yet. And if they were basing it off the picture they found in the boat, how did they know that the picture was of the host and not just some other monkey that the Korean dude had liked? It just doesn't add up and honestly it is very frustrating. The first 30 minutes of the movie are OK- the end is not.All the absurd science set aside, this movie STILL could have been a good drama. Do you bomb the hell out of a town with 2,600 people to avoid the possibility of more casualties, or do you remain humane all the way to the end of humanity? Do you murder in order to save others? Or do you just stand by idly? Instead of entering this murky territory, the film diverts the drama by having the protagonist miraculously find this "host animal", extract its blood, and cure everyone in the town (including his wife) in a matter of a few hours.Huge waste of potential.