Virus (1999)

Director:

John Bruno

Writers (WGA):

Chuck Pfarrer (creator: Dark Horse Comic Book series: "Virus")
Chuck Pfarrer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

15 January 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Horror | Thriller | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Life on earth is in for a shock.

Plot:

Seeking refuge from a typhoon, the crew of an American tugboat boards a top secret Russian research vessel and finds it infected by an alien life form which regards humans as a virus which must be destroyed at any cost!

Plot Keywords:

Alien Invasion | Machine Gun | Box Office Flop | Grenade | Nightmare

Cast

Jamie Lee Curtis	...	Kelly Foster / Kit Foster
William Baldwin	...	Steve Baker
Donald Sutherland	...	Captain Robert Everton
Joanna Pacula	...	Nadia Vinogradiya
Marshall Bell	...	J.W. Woods Jr.
Sherman Augustus	...	Richie Mason
Cliff Curtis	...	Hiko
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Squeaky
Yuri Chervotkin	...	Colonel Kaminski
Keith Flippen	...	Captain Lonya Rostov
Olga Rzhepetskaya-Retchin	...	Female cosmonaut
Levan Uchaneishvili	...	Captain Alexi (as Levani)
David Eggby	...	Norfolk captain

Also Known As:

Virus (France)
Virus - Schiff ohne Wiederkehr (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for sci-fi violence/gore, and for language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

France | UK | Germany | USA | Japan

Language:

English | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | South Korea:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KNT | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Newport News, Virginia, USA

Company:

Mutual Film Company

Trivia:

The lyrics of the Russian march heard during the end credits are actually the names of various cast and crew members pronounced backwards.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the eye of a storm, the sea isn't calm as depicted in the movie.

Quotes:

Goliath Machine: Checkmate.

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)

Better than evreyone makes it out to be

A mediocre storyline (i.e. Titanic) can become a world class film with character development, believable dialogue, and, for lack of a better word, some Hollywood magic. This film could have been a blockbuster with less action, less noise, less effects and more humans being human. Look at 2001 A Space Odyssey, Jaws, Titanic and countless other films, and you'll see that the story was about as interesting as Virus, and the actors, equally talented. Virus failed to deliver characters that we could believe and identify with.

I still recommend this film highly, as its interesting, it contains Jamie Lee Curtis (a hottie) and Donald Sutherland (a 20th century legend), lots of effects and action. In a way its sort of fun to watch quality actors attempt to make the best of horrible dialogue.

A 7 out of 10 for storyline and casting