The Andromeda Strain (2008)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Both the original and the remake are with seeing. The original is slower, less action, but mores science, and the remake is fast-faced as is normal in today's thrillers. They're both good. The twists in the remake regarding the source of the virus were convoluted and at times a bit implausible. In the original it is just some random space virus from a comet -- more plausible. Having just seen the remake it makes me want to see the original again, after many years.

In "The Andromeda Strain," a U.S. military satellite crashes in a small town in New Mexico and unleashes a deadly plague killing all but two survivors . As the military quarantines the area , a team of highly specialized scientists is assembled to find a cure to the pathogen code-named "Andromeda," and a reporter , Eric MacCormack , investigates a government conspiracy only to discover what he is chasing wants him silenced . The team of scientists formed by Benjamin Bratt as Dr. Jeremy Stone , Christa Miller as Dr. Angela Noyce , Daniel Dae Kim as Dr. TsiChou , Ricky Schroder as Major Bill Keane , Viola Davis as Dr. Charlene Barton , all of them are assembled in a high-tech, underground facility to identify and defeat the "enemy" before it is too late. As the threat must be identified in time to save the population from extermination . This is a fair-to-middling rendition based on Michael Chricton novel , previously adapted by Robert Wise with Arthur Hill, James Olsen , Paula Kelly , David Wayne , Kate Reid . It deals with a strange satellite falling back to earth carrying a deadly bacteria , as a crack team experiences strong difficulties as it becomes clear that the satellite has performed its intended function all too well, and has brought back something from space . It was originally exhibited as a two-part miniseries , but has also been edited into 4 different parts intended for airing as hour long episodes with commercials . This Sci-Fi yarn hits hard in the creepy beginning when an U.S. Army satellite , Scoop , falls to earth near Piedmont and population being destroyed , and in the hair-raising climax , as an extremely exciting ending , in fact , it is worthy of a typical action/thriller movie . However , the tension and suspense inherent in the bestselling Chricton novel is talked down by excessive changes from original book and a boring cast . After a splendidly traditional opening set piece , the message about the risks of scientific research starts to loom ponderously large with banks of super-computers dedicated to investigation as well as inclusion some weird elements as ¨Worm holes¨ and underwater bacteria ¨bacillus Infernus¨. As you'll perch on the very edge of the armchair when protagonists fight against time assailed by the Andrómeda Strain and to disarm the self-destruct device before it can trigger itself off .The motion picture was regularly directed by Mikael Salomon . Filmmaker makes rather plod through the screenplay , so that when the scientists finally get the connection between the micro-thing from outer space and a secret bacteriologic warfare , it seems heavily developed and high time , indeed . Salomon has stated his intention of working on less of the TV-series and pilots that force him to compromise his visions, in favor of more qualitative features and mini-series . He made some films but also directed other series , episodes and TV movies as ¨Rome¨, ¨The Company¨, ¨The Grid¨, ¨Salem's lot¨ , ¨Band of Brothers¨, ¨Six¨, ¨Pompeii¨, ¨Damien¨, ¨Young Arthur¨ and many others

I would have given this entertaining movie 8 stars instead of 10, but I'm giving it 10 stars to "balance out" the reviewers who are giving it 1 star just because the scientists include minorities and a gay man. By the way, out of 3 hours, there is 7 seconds where we learn that one scientist is gay and then it is never mentioned again. And apparently some reviewers are shocked, SHOCKED that a Latino or an Asian-American or an African-American or a gay person could be a scientist. Of course, that says nothing about minorities, but says volumes about the intelligence of the bigoted reviewers. That said, the movie, while very entertaining, is about an hour too long. They could have left out the "CNN-type" reporter (played by a straight actor who used to play a gay character on a sitcom-----Oh No!!! Another "gay" connection! Horrors!). Almost all of his scenes were unnecessary and cutting those scenes would have made the movie better and only 2 hours.

This is not even a remake of 1971 original film. I was preparing to see a good movie when I saw the title, but after 5 minutes I grabbed the Remote control and switched the TV off. There is no real connection with the original film. I am hoping IMDb creates a voting scale including Zero and negative values to rate these "productions" (should be read "destructions") with misleading titles.If I were the writer of the original novel, I would certainly ask not to be named in the creditsOverall Rating: By far, the WORST ever seen (mathematically the value would be tending to minus infinite)Reccomendations: Check release date before planning to see this title If it reads 1971 it's OK, if it is 2008, do not waste your time.