VIRUS Reviewed by Jamie Peck
Given the set-up, "Virus" sounds like yet another "Aliens" rip-off with a germ of an interesting idea thrown in for good measure. But what's an "Aliens" rip-off without a rag-tag team of assorted grunts and mercenaries to stop by this floating haunted house to infiltrate and investigate? "Virus"' comes in the form of high-seas scavengers who have just lost the barge they were tugging back to a presumable net gain. When the Irish cap'n (hammy Donald Sutherland, sounding like he got his accent inside a Lucky Charms box) and his motley crew spy the evil-infested boat, it's salvage salvation. Silly mortals.
Starting here, the movie adheres to strict genre predictability. A lone survivor (Polish actress Joanna Pacula, very good here) is discovered and provides requisite plot exposition. People venture into dark corridors armed only with flashlights and never return. Sutherland's navigator, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, gets her Sigourney Weaver mojo workin' and guides the good guys in an attempt to kick interplanetary butt. Cast members get killed off in reverse credits order. It's a good thing director John Bruno is a skilled special effects craftsman, because "Virus"' technical terrors offer eye-popping amusement even when the story takes frequent naps from creativity.
Like its own creepy creatures, "Virus" ends up cobbled together out of bits and pieces from similarly-themed fright flicks. In some respects, it almost plays like a remake of last January's awful "Deep Rising," but this movie is better than that one because a formless mass of otherworldly intelligence is a more compelling adversary - and story concept - than some anonymous sea monster that suddenly surfaces from the ocean's briny bowels. Curtis is also a fun heroine to have on your side (especially when she's in "Halloween" go-girl mode) but the manner in which she finally books it to safety is best described as plot-convenient.
The likeable William Baldwin tags along as a swarthy engineer and Curtis' leading man, but there's no time for romance; their sole intention is survival. But what about the film's intentions? If you crave science-fiction, don't mind story holes, logic lapses and genre copy-catting and have 90 minutes to burn - the movie is pretty well-paced despite its ultimately squandered potential - then this "Virus" is worth catching. Everyone else, however, is better off staying in bed, drinking lots of fluids and popping some antibiotics.
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