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I've noticed that all horror/sci-fi/thriller movies have basically
the same host of characters. There are two or three people -
human sacrifices, if you will - who are the first to get bumped
off by whoever or whatever is after everyone; these poor losers
only serve the purpose of pointing out the problem, whatever
that may be. Then there's always at least one easily- idolized
martyr - the unlucky hero who gets to die saving everyone else.
And of course, there are the real heroes - the lucky few who
survive. And someone always - I repeat, always- saves the day,
so you have your perfect little sadistically happy ending.
Now that I've got the formula figured out, not much surprises
me. "Virus" is no exception.
Jamie Lee Curtis plays Kelly Foster, a ship navigator who accompanies
her wrecked ship's crew and captain onto a deserted Russian
ship, which comes complete with satellite dishes and every other
high tech gadget that you can imagine. It appears that the ship
was receiving a satellite transmission from the MIR space station
when an evil, electrical based "life form" - that's an alternative
way of saying "space alien"- invaded. After destroying the space
station, the life form transmitted itself down to the Russian
ship via satellite. (And I thought trash TV was the worst thing
satellite could beam down to Earth!)
Although I liked Foster's tough, no-nonsense personality, I
didn't care for anything else in this senseless film. Although
the acting was fine, the roles didn't offer much room for Oscar
winning performances. Unfortunately, most sci-fi thrillers fit
the aforementioned plot description, and "Virus" falls right
into that category with a thud. (Which is not to say that ALL
sci-fi thrillers end up this way - the "Alien" movies and "Contact"
are rare exceptions.) "Virus" is only good for a few shocks,
although I saw those coming.
My rating: 2 stars
Rating : R (for sci-fi violence/gore, and for language)
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