CONTAGION (Steven Soderbergh)

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The narrative of Steven Soderbergh's CONTAGION is that of an interconnected one; from the first frame, we follow the path of a virus as it infects people all over the world. In all fairness to CONTAGION, I was hooked during maybe the first 30 minutes; then it gets kind of bland.

I still cannot figure out Soderbergh 's style in filmmaking. He hit the spot in OCEAN'S ELEVEN, OCEAN'S TWELVE and ERIN BROCKOVICH, and missed the mark in THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE and THE INFORMANT. Then again whether or not his films are of quality is up to anybody's preference. You either love em' or hate em'.

One thing is certain. The musical score helped create tension in the film.

And Marion Cotillard never looked more fabulous, since...ever.

I like CONTAGION on the basis of entertainment alone. The star power sure helped, especially Gwyneth Paltrow during that seizure scene. Matt Damon's haircut is disturbing, and Jude Law's activist blogger character seems out of tune. It doesn't really feel right for the story.

If at all, CONTAGION will make you wash your hands more, or avoid touching your face often.

There is nothing in CONTAGION in my opinion that we haven't already seen in Fernando Meirelles's BLINDNESS (collapse of social order, chaos, government conspiracy) and surprisingly, even in Roland Emmerich's 2012 (hello, lottery! hello privileged few getting the best seats in the salvation ship!). And for the record, how Soderbergh ended the film, I'm pretty sure I've seen the same technique somewhere else.

Soderbergh, nevertheless knows how to thrill with his playful editing. One more thing to be thankful for.

RATING: 3/5

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