Rating: 
Summary: A superbly mounted, unconventional thriller!
Review: When we hear the word "virus," we tend to think of something minute, something in connection to a computer meltdown or the spreading of the common cold among humans. The thought never even crosses our minds that a virus can be more than just the flu: it can possess the ability to spread in various, sometimes undetectable ways, expand at an alarmingly fast rate, and most frightening, it can be as fatal as a gunshot wound. If you must see one science fiction film this year, treat yourself to "Outbreak," a finely-tuned thriller about a virus that is transported to the United States and begins wiping out a small town in California. There's a great deal of various plot factors that the film explores in excruciating detail, while tightening each one with subtly effective suspense. Combined with some very entertaining performances and a director who knows what he's doing, "Outbreak" becomes a powerful thriller. Dustin Hoffman is cast as Sam Daniels, who, as an expert in microorganisms and viruses, works in the army for prevention of spreading diseases. His ex-wife, Robby Keough (Rene Russo), has just moved to Atlanta to work for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Everything is going as normal until Sam is called to duty in Zaire, where a disease is rapidly wiping out a small native town. Along with Major Salt (Cuba Gooding, Jr), and Major Casey Schuler (Kevin Spacey), they make their way down there, only to discover, to their dismay, just how quickly the disease has acted on everyone. And that's not all. A ship carrying wild animals from foreign countries and continents arrives in San Francisco, where a smuggler named Jimbo (Patrick Dempsey) carries an African monkey to a pet store for trade. Unbeknownst to him or anyone else who comes in contact with the host animal, they all begin contracting severe colds which progress into something much worse, a fatal virus that liquefies the inner organs until death occurs. And it's quite disturbing to see how easily spread the virus is, originating in Africa, making its way to the west coast of the United States, and then progressing by human contact, taking more and more lives as it grows rapidly. Jimbo flies to Boston, where a small outbreak soon becomes contained thanks to CDC's efforts. But a much larger outbreak is at work in a small Californian town, and as the virus soon adapts the ability to be contracted by air, the tension begins. The movie is a suspense thriller of the highest rate, a cutting-edge drama with suspense to spare. The drama lies with the unfolding of the human story behind the widespread disease. Families are seen torn apart as stricken members must leave for quarantine. The citizens of the town rebel at the thought of being confined, while the army and those who work diligently to stop the spreading of the bug must deal with the death that surrounds them everyday. The suspense, however, lies with the progression of the disease, and a mystery surrounding the discovery of a secret antiserum. The virus is shown traveling through air in a sneeze at the movies, circulating amongst the crowd; the very thought of these germs is enough to cringe. It makes you think about just how many germs actually do invade your body each day. Sam's discovery of the antiserum to the virus leads to some shocking revelations concerning his superiors, General Billy Ford (Morgan Freeman) and General Donald McClintock (Donald Sutherland), and testament on how far any country will go for biological power. This is also the first movie to come along in a good deal of time that makes you consider the many different situations from your own point of view. It poses many opposing viewpoints: quarantining the town or destroying it, citizens and all, to keep the virus from spreading across the country; introducing a serum you know you have, or keeping it hidden from public view in order that you may have superiority in the advancement of biological weapons (at one point, McClintock refers to the dying patients as "casualties of war"). With this film, you can actually see yourself in the same situations, and given the choices you have, sometimes the decision is not an easy one to make. At just about every turn in the film, a new star pops into view. It's a movie full of star power, but it uses it casually and to its advantage. Dustin Hoffman is in fine form as the well-educated and intuitive Sam, while Rene Russo is as convincing in her performance as Robby. Kevin Spacey is a smash as the comic relief Schuler, sarcastic and witty to the final credits, and Cuba Gooding, Jr. sells us on his determination and stamina as Salt. Morgan Freeman is back in one of his infrequent bad-guy roles, though his good-guy qualities get the better of him. Donald Sutherland is devilishly cunning as McClintock, making him the ultimate despicable character. And, it must be said, that J.T. Walsh gives one of the best performances of his career, as the Chief of Staff who must introduce the idea of eliminating the town to the President's advisory panel. After seeing this film, I'll never sneeze again. It has such a tremendous effect on you, one that forces you to follow its story, and then forces you to think about what you have just seen. It's a drama of surprising proportions. "Outbreak" is like the very virus it portrays: it begins with small twists and turns, and as time goes on, it expands into a very effective film.
Rating: 
Summary: Hoffman is great as always
Review: Outbreak takes a shocking look at what could happen when an diseased animal infects the human population with a 100% fatal virus. Some people say it couldn't happen. But actually, this is a work of fiction that has some basis in fact. After all, syphilis came from sheep, both cows and humans can get pink eye, and some medical researchers think that the HIV virus came from monkeys in Africa. Just like in this movie! Outbreak has a powerful story and lots of action. But it does have a couple problems. Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo are totally mismatched. Also, the ending is too predictable and a real cliche' I would have prefered to see some kind of interesting twist on the story at the end.
Rating:
Summary: Helpless Little Monkey, Or Not?
Review: Dustin Hoffman takes the leading role in a brilliant psychological thriller taking place a few decades ago about a virus that is mistakenly trifled with, and ends up terrorizing an entire town, turning it upside-down. This is a truly scary and realistic look at the dangers behind animal virus'. Some say that it could never happen and it was too far-fetched. But, it is scientifically more than possible. "Outbreak" studies the changes of the lives of the people who get unfortunately infected with the virus. The symptoms leading up to the ugly part are so real that you can't be moved in some way by it. It may disgust you, or fascinate you, but it is like nothing that you have ever seen before. The science inside of the movie "Outbreak" is very interesting and detailed. When something like this happens, there is emotion everywhere: feelings of not being sure, fright and panic. Houses with an infected member had to show the public by hanging a white rag on their door. The police not allowing anyone at all evacuation for the time being. It makes you think: what if I were one of the victims to this? There isn't barely anything to do about it. This really is a gripping and maturing look at the day our environment turns on us.
Rating:
Summary: More fun than a barrel of diseased monkeys
Review: Outbreak is a fine piece of film fiction. Deadly virus that can spread rapidly and obliterate an entire population . . . the imaginations on these people! What will they think of next. Outbreak will keep you engrossed for the duration and is an excellent way to kill a couple of hours. The cast is superb and there parts of the film are actually quite touching. Some parts of the film don't work out the way I want them to, so I watch it over and over again hoping that it'll be different. It's been the same every time, but sooner or later Kevin Spacey will live dammit. All in all, an excellent movie. A bit cliche-ish at times, but a very good film regardless.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling and touching Movie.
Review: Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo play scientists who must stop a deadly disease from wipeing out a town in the western United States. Part Medical thriller and poltical drama, fans of action/adventure movies will enjoy this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Greatist movie ever
Review: Outbreak was without a doubt the absoloute best movie I have ever seen. The plot was incredible. A deadly virus with a 100% mortality rate has just struck a small California town, there is no cure nor escape as the virus threatens to infect the entire U.S. unless the virus is contained. The only one who could possibly take on a task like this is Colonel Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman). If you have seen any of Hoffman's previous films you know that he is one of the greatist actors to ever grace the silver screen with his marvelous tallent.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable film
Review: Somewhere, in Hollywood, there is a man who gets paid to read the popular science books & magazines in the search for ideas. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it means that we do get to see more original films and fewer second, or third time around remakes. The subject of this film is the emergence of a new virus and the attempts of the authorities to deal with it.Col. Sam Daniels (Dustin Hoffman) is a maverick virus hunter working for the US military His ex-wife Robby (Renee Russo) is his opposite number at the CDC. When a small town on the west coast is struck by a virus "worse than Ebola" they end up working together again. They find themselves fighting not just the virus but a high level conspiracy in the military that would rather sacrifice the town than expose its own illegal activities. The film rises above the standard thriller/disaster fare largely because of strong performances by the leading actors. Hoffman especially really does a good job. He does have a great script and a good part to work with but his character really gets the audience onside and you an really believe that this character wants to defeat the virus. The film is not without faults. A few lapses of science are inevitable but worse are the two generals (Sutherland & Freeman) involved in the cover-up. Donald Sutherland is certainly a better actor than he appears here. He is basically never given the opportunity to portray his character as anything other than a hollow shell as the necessary bad guy. The film would have been a lot more convincing had it been able to portray these two as convincing bad guys.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I am a huge movie fan....my personal collection consists of about 500 movies and this is one of my top ten. Outbreak is awesome for several reasons but to me the best thing about it is the incredible acting. How many movies out there have a dialog between three oscar winning actors. Spacey, Hoffman, and Gooding Jr. are all in the movie, and have several intense interactions with one another. Also in the movie are Donald Sutherland and Rene Russo, not too shabby in their own right. Outbreak contains some excellent acting and a pretty good story line too. I give very few movies five stars but this is definitely one.
Rating:
Summary: Great action movie
Review: I have just seen that movie for the first time and it was one of the best movies I've ever seen! It was exciting because it had a threat against the USA and which was solved such a great way. I really liked this movie because that is USA all about: Power.
Rating:
Summary: Realistic and Frightening - Brilliant
Review: One of Dustin Hoffmans best played roles, A great what if story about a deadly virus reaching the USA. A true classic
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