This is a real potboiler. It's another one of those films that has so many contrivances that it's hard to keep track of it all. It is also laden with incredible incompetence by so many people whose lives and positions revolve around absolute care and precaution. People are practically running into each other trying to do the next thing. Torn suits (why bother to wear them), accidental injections, escaping monkeys, kisses of death, are just part of the craziness, not to mention the motivations of the bad guys. And finally, there is that battle in the air. The actors are some of the best, but the plotting and happenstance are really too much.

An Ebola-like but (naturally) even more lethal virus nearly wipes out an American town (with the help of the army), but Dustin Hoffman grabs the monkey (the primary host of the virus) by the neck and produces a life-saving anti-serum in no time, saving the world and his marriage, as well (thanks to the fact that his soon-to-be ex agonises a little more patiently than the others).It sounds pretty dumb, but thanks to the decent script, the fine actors (you can rarely go wrong with Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman), the good pacing and the simple, but effective direction, Outbreak is actually a satisfying thriller that remains semi-plausible throughout and never gets boring. That's saying a lot, because most films in the genre are unable to keep up the tension and lack even a dash of realism. Outbreak does grab your attention, outlines a realistic scenario, and keeps you on the edge of your seat till the end.Unfortunately, the last third of the film is drenched in the usual clichés — world-saving hero vs. pigheaded, war-obsessed military commander, deus ex machina supplied in abundance, mandatory happy ending, etc. —, but the competent execution ensures solid entertainment for the whole two hours. And with the climate change and the terrifying prospect of deadly diseases spreading to territories previously considered 'safe', the topic remains as relevant as ever.

Outbreak is what you'd get if you combined Toxic Skies (2008) with Warning Sign (1985). It's a typical disease panic movie, but in this particular scenario the United States army is willing to cover things up to the point of killing millions and not offering health care. A monkey is spreading the disease, a capuchin monkey smuggled from South Africa to the States by a slob named Jimbo. Jimbo's girlfriend catches it, so does a whole movie theater full of innocent people, and the next thing you know everyone from senior citizens to infants are dropping like flies. Two disease control doctors, feuding over their divorce, have to work together to save the country from the epidemic.This was a decent movie, but a heavily exaggerated scenario. It mimics Warning Sign but on a much larger scale. The soundtrack was great, the acting wasn't bad, and I hate monkeys so the horrible animal wandering the streets with the disease was pretty creepy to me.I also recommend The Happening (2008), The Omega Man (1971), Toxic Skies (2008), The Andromeda Strain (1971), Warning Sign (1985), Dawn of the Dead (1978), The Crazies (1973) and Threads (1984).

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.