The film was inspired by real-life events that was covered in the book The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, Jr. The first scene reminded me of Ghost Ship, if you’ve watched that, you know what I’m talking about. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, this disaster thriller have veered away from the usual formula of virus-cure-end. Instead they introduced another enemy, one that you thought you could entrust your life with.

The biggest plot twist here is that, the problem isn’t the virus, it is what it is, but regarding the efforts in curing it, mankind itself will be the biggest obstacle. Mankind and Greed. Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and Cuba Gooding Jr., Rene Russo, and Donald Sutherland, notable stars came together to make this Epidemic film a success. Honestly speaking, I’m not really a fan of Dustin Hoffman, specially to star in a film this gripping, that’s just me. Cuba Gooding Jr. had a memorable performance here, even as a right hand man of Hoffman’s. The incredible casting made up for the crazy plot that happened during the latter part of the film.

Their portrayal of the Motaba virus outbreak is a hemorrhagic virus. It has a 100% mortality rate and is a VHF (Viral Hemorrhagic Fever) which causes a fever and intense bleeding both internal and external. It isn’t a pretty sight when you see someone who is infected by this, and I love how they made it look like that. It’s not just some flu, bed-ridden kind of a virus, it will literally destroy your body and your consciousness. Definitely a scary sight to see and gives that extra kick to the story’s premise. Outbreak is a little similar to Contagion (2011), but the symptoms are way worse.

There were some elements of the film that I feel could’ve been left out. There were also some instances that were over-the-top that it wasn’t believable anymore. It was also a bit lengthy in my opinion, definitely a popcorn night with friends kind of a flick, but not something to take seriously. They had some things shown that were stupid to see given their current situation in the film. People not wearing masks, a kiss here and there, a goodbye hug from an infected person. All of which just worsen the state of their small town.

Outbreak is a good, but lengthy thriller disaster film to watch with friends and family, though it’s a bit long, ordering a pizza beforehand would definitely past the time while watching this. I still recommend watching this if you’re into disaster film, stellar casting, good acting, scriptwriting could be better, but all in all, it is a strong contender under the Epidemic/Pandemic category. A better film of the same genre is Contagion.