Admittedly, then I had really high hopes for this movie, because the reviews I had read and the words spoken about it had been praising and commenting well on the story. So I sat down to watch this movie with a great level of expectation. And also, I wanted to see it because I was in Hong Kong when SARS broke out, so this movie had an additional initial appeal for me.

And now having seen the movie, I sit here somewhat dumbfounded. Was that really it? There movie wasn't all that and a bag of potato chips. Sure it deals with a topic that is constantly lying under the surface, a global pandemic crisis. And that storyline was great. However, the movie tried to tell too many tales at the same time and tried to weave them in together somehow, but it just didn't work. The end result was half-hearted because none of the characters had any chance to evolve or shine on the screen, and the story was jumpy, trying to be everywhere at once.

Sure, they had a great bunch of people on the cast list, lots of nice actors and actresses, well-established names, however, the performers just had very little to work with in their characters, and that put the movie back a notch. The most memorable performance was the one by Elliot Gould, and he didn't even have that big a role.

The music score for the movie was quite good, on another note. And it was actually what worked out the best for me, because the movie was a tad jumpy and shallow, wanting to accomplish a lot, but failing to do so, spewing out only mediocre results.

Aside from the music score, what this movie had working for it is the fact that it leaves you with something to think about once the movie is over. Sure, it will not be the performances that will linger in your mind, but the possibility of such a viral outbreak. It happened with SARS and H1N1, so is it just a matter of time before the next? I like that in movies, when they leave you with something to think about. However, I did rate the movie from its entertainment value and its storyline.

"Contagion" is a good attempt at a modern viral outbreak movie, but it just didn't even reach the 1995 movie "Outbreak" to the knees. That movie was far better executed and entertaining.