Extreme measures are necessary to contain an epidemic of a deadly airborne virus. But how extreme, exactly? Outbreak is one of those underrated 90's films that people have totally forgotten and it's unfortunately true because this movie is pretty damn awesome. Every scene where the main characters go into a room and try to help a infected person or get infected themselves is full of great suspense and each actors sold it perfectly. Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey and Cuba Gooding Jr. are all really great in this film and for once again Donald Sutherland completely sells it as the "villain" i mean the man is a genius he is so great that he actually makes you hate him to death. The score of the film is also pretty good and sells on both the tension and suspense of the film. The direction of Wolfgang Petersen is really good and with some pretty good shots overall. The characters are likable and interesting enough and the film every time that hits on action is pretty damn good. Overall Outbreak (1995) gets a total of 5/5 stars!!

I have to think that Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey, Renee Russo and McDreamy knew at some point early in production that things weren't going well.I've rated it 1 star for overall quality; however, if you are willing to suspend reality and watch as "entertainment", you will find this is closer to 5-6 stars of afternoon enjoyment along the lines of Reptillicus (look it up) or any of the old Godzilla movies, less the A-list actors.

Outbreak is what I would describe as an extra-ordinary movie, full of badly directed extras doing incomprehensible things. Are we expected to believe that people in an infected area will become so enraged that they will attack their helpers for no reason? And the events leading to the outbreak are risible. A hospital lab worker who is so engrossed in a radio sport commentary that he puts his hand into a centrifuge without switching it off. An emergency department doctor who screams at his patients to get better. He'd die of nervous exhaustion in a week in any busy ED.What are all these great actors doing in this mess?

THE PLOT: After a deadly incurable African virus is brought to a Northern California coastal town via a monkey, the military moves in to quarantine the village. While Dustin Hoffman seeks to find an antidote, the two generals in charge of the quarantine (Morgan Freeman & Donald Sutherland) strangely decide to annihilate the town. Can Hoffman find a cure in time? And, even if he does, can he stop the firebombing? I remember when Wolfgang Petersen's "Outbreak" came out in 1995; the idea just never interested me. Big mistake, because this is an outstanding picture. Although viruses are so small they're invisible, they have the potential to be the biggest monsters of all. Certain deadly viruses, if let loose, can easily wipe out an entire town in a mere couple days. This is the scenario in "Outbreak." It could happen and is therefore realistic, which naturally makes the story more horrifying than most horror flicks or monster movies.But "Outbreak" is more than just a scary what-if story, the second half involves a military cover-up and is edge-of-your-seat suspenseful, all the way to the final minutes. It's like an avalanche that slowly builds momentum.Cuba Gooding Jr. is also on hand in a significant role as Hoffman's partner in the race-against-time. And, for those who care, there's a romantic subplot about Hoffman and his ex-wife Rene Russo. Will they get back together? The locations are magnificent, filmed in the coastal towns Eureka, Arcata and Ferndale, California, all in the extreme Northern part of the state, just South of the Redwoods and West of Bigfoot territory (i.e. Willow Creek). The African sequences were filmed in Hawaii.BOTTOM LINE: This is top-of-the-line cinema -- equal parts scary, dramatic and suspenseful.GRADE: A-