Contagion is a film that, initially, I didn't want to watch. I was afraid of it. After all, it's a disaster film about a virus that kills millions of people. It's an entirely plausible, horrifying scenario. Sure, it's improbable, but it has infinitely more chances of happening than anything in a Roland Emmerich disaster flick. The film even seems to be built like a warning, even though the only way the situation could have been prevented would have been for everyone to just stop touching each other.
Contagion boasts an all-star cast, with the main players being Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslet, and Jude Law. Demetri Martin bafflingly portrays a scientist in the film, too, but that's another story altogether. The actors are all great, but at times it feels like the film went for too much. Marion Cotillard's storyline in the film is relatively useless, and probably should have been cut in order to give other stories some room; Jude Law and Laurence Fishburne have great storylines that are hurriedly realized and concluded. The best storyline in the film is that of Matt Damon's character, but even the way I worded that poses a problem: it's such a big cast and everyone is so recognizable that they don't have time to develop their own characters. While watching the film, I think of Matt Damon's character as Matt Damon, and his daughter as Matt Damon's daughter. In this film, Jude Law is a blogger and Kate Winslet researches diseases. Even Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston, in his small role, is just Bryan Cranston in a military uniform (and Cranston might be the most talented actor of the bunch). And, as I mentioned before, Demetri Martin is a scientist.
Ultimately, Contagion is a film I didn't want to enjoy but did. The concept is scary, sure, but perhaps it's the presence of familiar faces that help to ease the blow. The film certainly would have been a more effective thrill ride if it had been helmed by a bunch of lesser-known actors, but had that been the case, you probably wouldn't be reading this review. B-
Contagion hits shelves on January 3 with a Blu-ray combo pack featuring both high- and standard-definition versions of the film, as well as an UltraViolet Digital Copy.
