Being the morbid bunch that we are, one of the first things on everyone’s mind when the world was stricken by the COVID-19 pandemic was to immediately revisit any movie that revolved around a deadly health crisis, leading to 1995’s Outbreak embarking on a resurgence as a result.
It isn’t held up as a bastion of blockbuster excellence, but it still stands out as a ridiculously stacked ensemble piece that found major success at the box office. Director Wolfgang Petersen steered the contagious ship to $190 million at the box office on a $50 million budget, no doubt assisted by the oodles of star power on display.
Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Spacey, and Patrick Dempsey were just some of the names along for the ride, with the story finding a lethal virus smuggled into the United States to force the government into action after a California town gets locked down.
It’s decent enough escapism – albeit concerningly timely back in 2020 – but a bold Redditor has come forth to claim that Outbreak “is such a stinker.” Needless to say, opinion is split on the accuracy of that statement, and while it’s a million miles away from being a classic, it’s in no way a dud, either.
Of course, that’s entirely down to personal preference at the end of the day, but watching it through the lends of the post-COVID era is nothing if not curious considering everything we’ve been through in the last three years.