VirusA ship is stranded in the middle of an ocean. A typhoon endangers the lives of the people on board. However, the people on board are afraid of something even more troublesome. A creature has invaded the ship and proceeded to knock off individuals one by one. The plot I just described is from Deep Rising, a 1998 horror film which took itself too seriously to be any fun. That plot also describes VIRUS, a new film starring Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis. Everything surrounding the film suggests a bad film: Universal kept pushing the film back, never a good sign. It finally ended up in January, a month which tends to be brutal on films. Then, Universal refused to preview the film for critics, the most obvious sign of a bad film. Is VIRUS, then, a bad film? Not at all.
It's not a particularly good one, though, either. In fact, no one would mistake this film for great filmmaking. More than likely, critics will be ruthless, panning the film across the board. Just as Deep Impact did last year, audiences will also ignore the very expensive film. Those who do check it out will be surprised that it isn't nearly as bad as the word of mouth suggests. In fact, for purely entertainment purposes, VIRUS succeeds on the most basic level. Sometimes, people need to go to a movie to escape logic and intelligence. Perhaps critics could learn something from the average viewing audience (who, in turn, could learn something from critics).
VIRUS begins on the MIR space station. The Russians aboard look out into space and see a shimmering light. In the meantime, the crew of the MIR is attempting to download information to the Akademic Vladislav Volkov, a Russian information ship in the ocean. After further observations, the shimmering light turns out to be an energy cloud, heading right for the station. As the link between the two ships is established, this energy cloud passes through the ship, transferring some of its energy through the transmitter beam. The crew of the MIR is killed, and seconds later, virtually everyone aboard the Akademic is dead.
The ship becomes a floating coffin, only to be discovered by a ship escaping a vicious typhoon. Captain Everton (Donald Sutherland) lost a barge in the typhoon which cost him his entire life savings. Unfortunately, when the barge sank, it caused a lot of damage to the tugboat. As it slowly sinks, they discover the vacant ship and decide to salvage it. "The Russians will be forced to pay us 10% of the ship's net worth," the captain informs them. 10% comes out to about $30 million.
Greed is always an underlying rule of any film, and yet it is a very realistic problem (see Se7en). Here, greed is exploited in a way that could have been extrapolated into a better film. Aboard the ship is one lone survivor: Nadia (Joanna Pacula). Nadia explains that the ship's power was turned off to prevent an evil entity from destroying the human race. Unfortunately, rule has it that anyone left alive on a deserted ship voids the 10% salvage claim. This moral dilemma is never explored any further than the normal idiotic conversation: Everton is completely illogical, while Kit Foster (Jamie Lee Curtis) defends the woman's life. Of course, this is a sci-fi thriller, and moral dilemmas aren't usually accepted into such films.
Comparisons to Alien and Deep Rising aren't unwarranted. This film wreaks or unoriginality and flatness. But who would walk into VIRUS expecting a thoughtful film? The major problems with VIRUS aren't in its intelligence, but in its disappointments. The film explores the themes of man vs. machine, the same thing Terminator explored. However, here, the themes aren't effectively portrayed, limiting the film's inherent interest. We always consider AIDS to be a virus, but what would it think of us if it had the ability to think? Would we be the virus in its mind? It's a shame the film doesn't explore these themes more intensely as the plot is fully capable of doing.
One theme that could and should have been explored is the theme the film already deals with. Instead of bringing it to the forefront and presenting it as a thriller, we are given a thriller with a couple good ideas in the background. This is the most troublesome part of the film. The virus that invades the ship adapts itself to our technology and then proceeds to discover a way to kill the "virus." What it comes up with is startling: it tries to produce organic life forms. It rips apart dead humans in order to create living ones. It comes as close to producing a human being as possible with the limited technologies and tools aboard a Russian information ship. Is this a slap at our society? Human beings, after all, are the only species that willingly kill each other for no real purpose. If this is what the film was aiming for, it came through only half-baked. It's a shame, too. It's quite a resonant theme.
Director John Bruno is a master of special effects, and his resume proves that he is. As a special effects technician, he worked on many of James Cameron's films, including Titanic before he bailed to start work on this film. The special effects in the film are outstanding, as the mechanical creatures wander around, gathering more body parts. It's a shame that the creatures tend to be a rip-off on the Borg, the evil nemesis in Star Trek: First Contact. As a director, however, he is rather inept. He can tell a story rather clearly, but his control of the elements aren't sure-handed. The screenplay by Dennis Feldman and Jonathan Heinsleigh, adapted from the comic book, is full of inane dialogue and very stupid characters. The plot actually helps these weak aspects of the script. Surprisingly, it is darkly funny, as instanced in one very funny scene as the captain tries to shoot himself. The film may have worked even better had it gone for camp instead of the seriousness achieved here.
Jamie Lee Curtis hasn't had a very impressive run. She's appeared in VoiceStream commercials, as well as the critically panned Halloween: H20. If she'd get some better roles, she'd prove her worth. Here, she brings a lot to the character. When she punches the captain, we enjoy seeing her do it. Donald Sutherland, however, goes over-the-top in a ridiculous performance that borders on campy. His may be the worst Irish accent I've heard in years. William Baldwin (apparently, he no longer likes to be called Billy) is still the least talented of the Baldwin brothers. However, that's not really a bad thing, since all of the Baldwin brothers are quite talented. William just seems to keep landing the worst roles. The rest of the cast is pretty much there to be torn to shreds, although special note must go to Cliff Curtis as the multi-tattooed crewmate. Curtis also had the displeasure of being in 1998's Deep Rising. Too bad for him.
VIRUS is rated R for sci-fi/horror violence and gore, and language. People being torn to shreds is pretty much relegated to the unseen. For the most part, gruesome deaths are off-screen, while the after-effects are seen in full detail. Of course, not all the murders are off-screen. One especially graphic murder is shown. However, despite the mostly negative comments concerning the film, it is a highly entertaining one that manages to keep the viewer engaged without falling into a deep sleep. Just remember: leave your brain at the door.