Contagion - 2 stars out of 10

Contagion - 2 stars out of 10
450th Review

"Contagion" is [long pause] an interesting film.  Sorry for the delay, I had to run into the room and wash my hands three times.  I believe that this germ-awareness film would have been successful if shot in a documentary style (a la District 9).  It would have been difficult to explain why the documentary crew found their way into certain areas, but this film felt way too much like a documentary to be filmed in such a conventional manner.  With the 6 stars on the movie poster, you would expect this to be a tour de force of acting but, since few of the stars ever appear in the same way, it gives the impression of "which one of these stars should have the lead role" and in the end, none of them are featured (particularly the one who dies within the first 10 mintues of the film...)  The entire idea behind this film is amazing and terrifying.  You can feel everybody in the theater fighting to stop touching their face 3-5 times per minute as the movie progresses.  Of the stars, Marion Cotillard shines the brightest with Kate Winslet in a close second place.  Matt Damon showed potential but his character really kept him from a dynamic expression of his emotions.  I honestly cannot say whether I would recommend this film or not.  It has definitely changed my perspective of germs and will encourage me to wash my hands more often, but despite it's great story and star-studded cast it somehow manages to be extremely boring.