Frankly, dull. What could have been a triumph of plotting and explanation of how governments and people would cope under the all too present real danger of a global flu-type epidemic falls between all stools - it is neither rigorous enough to be truly scientific, or driven to be a disaster movie - or even innocuous enough to be a bureaucratic take on a global dilemma - so what the viewer gets is a half-baked, half-produced, and half-finished film.

Given the stars on display, the ideas involved, the scope this truly is probably the most disappointing film of the year - it is not terrible per se, you can sit through and not cringe, but it never goes anywhere. Static film-making, a turgid script, and frankly incredibly underworked ideas, all leave the viewer going meh at best.

By all means see it when it comes round on TV but paying to see this in the cinema might encourage more, and honestly, if you can't, with the resources available, make a great film out of these stars, this plot, and this budget, then it's time to call it a day.