Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Coventry "Virus" is a prestigious and massive international co-production that is guaranteed to leave some sort of positive impression on you, whether because of its unique gimmick of destroying planet Earth twice in one movie, the grim and overall very nihilistic tone of the film or simply because it gathers an unlikely all-star cast of versatile nationalities. The version I own and watched is the infamous and generally disliked American 'short' cut of 105 minutes. Everyone else claims the full & original version of 155 minutes is the only real deal, but personally I won't make any further efforts to track that one down because the shorter version already astonished me enough and I'm not big supporter of long (horror/Sci-Fi) movies anyway. The premise is deliciously paranoiac and easily one of the greatest 'the-end-of-existence-is-upon-us' stories I've ever beheld. What makes the film even greater, however, is that the slow extinction of our entire human race is atmospherically depicted from everywhere around the world. The first half of "Virus" largely exists of disturbing and genuinely harrowing images of people from all over the globe helplessly awaiting their inescapable fates. The film passes through all the major cities (London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo…) and realistically illustrates how the number of inhabitants alarmingly decreases until there are absolutely no survivors left. An airplane carrying on board the top secret and military-developed germ warfare virus MM-88 crashes and the immeasurably lethal weapon slowly spreads itself. The entire world population dies from as a result of the Italian Flu (don't know why they blame the Italians, though) and not a single government in the world is capable of saving their citizens. A few months later only the militaries and researchers stationed in Antarctica are left, because the cold temperature seemingly protects them from the virus. Inevitably the survivors face new ordeals, as there are only eight women left and approximately 850 men. But all daily issues of copulation and interracial stress suddenly become insignificant when the Antarctica base camp becomes the target of previously programmed nuclear missiles that are close to getting launched. Director Kinji Fukasako ("Battle Royale") masterfully maintains an atmosphere of both tension and absorbing melodrama. The ending leaves you speechless; the international cast perfectly and almost naturally supports each other and most of the post-apocalyptic images are breathtaking. Some really awesome names were involved in this production, often just to nonchalantly through the screen and disappear again, like Sonny Chiba, Bo Svenson, Edward James Olmos, Glenn Ford, Robert Vaughn, Henry Silva and the indescribably beautiful as always Olivia Hussey. "Virus" is a truly affecting film and quite an unforgettable demonstration of earthly unity, what with the Cold War going on at the time and all. Highly recommended, I don't care in which version.

tomdownes1 I saw the 2nd half of this movie as a college freshman; I was 18 years old. It was playing in the communal lounge of my dormitory at Harvey Mudd College. (I am now 36, so this was 18 years ago.) Wanting to see the whole movie from start to finish, I have been looking for a copy of this movie for a long, long time. I just discovered on www.Wikipedia.com that this was originally a Japanese movie, edited for American television.This is a fascinatingly depressing movie. A lot of semi-plausible scenarios combine to just about completely wipe out the human race. A global man-made disaster is eventually followed by a completely different yet equally lethal global man-made disaster (having no real connection to the first disaster, but combined within the same movie--depressing!). A valiant attempt to save a small batch of survivors (who survived the 1st disaster) fails, allowing the 2nd disaster to occur. The failure is due to a delay of mere minutes.Want a feel-good movie to lift your spirits? Don't see this movie. Trust me.

Bob-45 "Virus" is a earnest attempt to chronicle an apocalypse, perhaps for cautionary as well as artistic and financial intentions. Unfortunately, the producers made many mistakes which seriously undercut their efforts. The result is a boring, sometimes tedious 2 ½ hour movie about a very important subject, i.e., gene splicing and the possible consequences of misuse as a biological weapon. This is doubly a shame, as "Virus" was especially timely, coming at the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. Although the fictional virus functioned in a slightly different manner, had AIDS been an airborne, highly infectious agent, the disastrous consequences could have been exactly the same.The first serious mistake was the use of flashback at the beginning of the film. Given that there is very little action in "Virus," the use of flashback undercuts any element of suspense, at least during the first hour.The second serious mistake was placing the disaster so near in the future (1982-83). Had the movie been a hit, it would barely have been out of the theaters before it was out of date.The third serious mistake was casting actors well known for action films. Casting actors such as Chuck Connors, Bo Swenson, Sonny Chiba and Henry Silva creates anticipation for action which rarely happens. Glenn Ford, Robert Vaughn and, to a lesser extent, George Kennedy are effective in their small, but pivotal roles. However, all three of these stars are as associated with dramas as with action films. The beautiful Olivia Hussey is decorative, but too matter-of-fact for a character who be troubled and conflicted. However, it was a special treat seeing a very young Edward James Olmos; he was effective in his few scenes. Just don't ask him to sing.The fourth serious mistake was not hiring a skilled second unit director versed in English. Many of the English-speaking actors overact; and, when there is this much overacting, it's the fault of the director. Given the sensitive manner of the scenes in which the actors spoke Japanese, I'm guessing the director was not well versed in English.The fifth serious mistake was the phony looking "Oval Office" set. Since much of the drama takes place in the "Oval Office," great pains should have been taken to create a more realistic atmosphere.WARNING: SPOILERThe sixth serious mistake involved the "ARS". anyone even remotely familiar with US defenses would know Silva would not be able to activate the "ARS" alone. US "Fail Safe" systems always require two individuals and an activation code. This would have been a very simple fix, and the mistake is compounded by allowing Silva to cackle like a villain in a bad melodrama.If the first two hours of "Virus" were simply boring, the last 30 minutes is downright tedious, despite a whole 7 minutes of mild action, the first since the first half hour. When a film this dull runs over two hours, all the earlier irritants become even more noticeable. Everything from the sappy music to Chuck Connors' terrible British accent and Bo Svenson's "Buford Pusser" haircut brings great irritation. Worse, the last 30 minutes is laughably absurd, asking us to believe an "above top secret" weapons control center can be breached as easily as an office building. Such a command center would have its own air supply and decontamination center, making it as safe as Connors' nuclear submarine. By the way, hasn't anyone ever heard of HAZMAT suits? After all, this movie was made nearly ten years after "The Andromeda Strain." However, the most laughably absurd element is expecting us to believe the Japanese scientist could escape on foot from "ground zero" of an all-out nuclear war and find, several thousand miles later, a colony of two dozen or so people, when he hasn't a clue where they are going to settle. END OF SPOILERKeep in mind, the dreadful "Virus" cost nearly as much as "The Empire Strikes Back," and all the producers have to show for the effort is some beautiful photography. "Virus" is just one more piece of evidence than good intentions don't necessarily make good movies. I give "Virus" a "3".

John M Upton The little known, seldom heard of film known here as 'Virus' hit the UK shores on DVD in my local supermarket bargain bin for the grand total of three quid.I took a chance and bought it…..Actually this is surprisingly a very good story with an impressive cast list that must have been desperate for the cash although Chuck Connors as a British Royal Navy Captain does take a bit of getting used to! The story line is a well thought out scenario carefully planned and I am wondering what extra interest lurked in the reportedly missing 40 or so minutes of the full Japanese edit.It was a pity therefore that this effectively straight to video effort was let down by some really bad editing, poor picture quality, duff soundtrack, too many stock images of icebergs and cities and an occasional bit of duff dialogue.It does however keep running along nicely and unlike many examples of this genre, avoids getting bogged down in unnecessary scenes or throwaway dialogue with the possible exception of the rather bizarre ending.With a bit of rewriting, some careful cast choices and a decent budget as well as modern effects, this excellent story could be remade to a standard of excellence that would put many of the big budget CGI laden super thrillers that seem to clog up cinemas these days to shame.Now, is there a movie mogul prepared to take the gamble and put his cash on the line to give this story the proper treatment it deserves?