Contagion, but for a few well placed flaws, could have been a great film. It's the type of experience, much like Outbreak and The Hot Zone were before it, that makes one consider a hermit-like existence. Director Steven Soderbergh moves things along competently, the acting is there, and the themes presented are relevant and vital. So what factor undercuts Contagion? The humanity, oh the humanity. Or rather the lack thereof. Like a tropical disease, this is a film that could have used a bit more warmth to connect.

Gwyneth Paltrow's character is on a work assignment in Hong Kong. She heads out for a night of gallivanting, as one does, and unwittingly exposes herself to a nasty virus. This new virus is a result of bad luck and happenstance. As Snoop Dogg would tell you, this is the sort of thing happens all the time. She stops in Chicago for a layover but she LEAVES THE AIRPORT (emphasis added by the film itself). She comes into contact with around a zillion people, give or take. She gets pretty sick, heads home to her husband (Matt Damon) and the kids in Minneapolis, and then is checked into the hospital, suffering from seizures. It's not good times. Something is afoot. Everyone wash your hands!

Cut to the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia. These are the brave scientists protecting us from catastrophic pandemics. Kate Winslet and Laurence Fishburne start inspecting the first few cases of Paltrow's sickness ... and they are none too pleased by what they see. Winslet is dispatched to Minnesota (Land of 10,000 Lakes) to try and contain the madness. But this is an illness that won't be contained. Enter Jude Law as the hard-charging (though conspiracy prone) Internet reporter, just the sort of fellow who would gain prominence during an international disaster.

Thematically Contagion resonates. Where it slips (and eventually falls) is the massive scope. Months are missing from the plot, and a major logic flaw involving a kidnapping is presented. It's difficult to orient oneself to the state of the world at any given moment, though Contagion clearly wants you thinking globally. Finally, there's an overarching lack of humanity in a film about a legitimate threat to civilization. Relationships are sort of hinted at, but their depth is completely glossed over, and nothing has any impact. Contagion is a clinical film, to its detriment, covering everything that could go wrong in a pandemic without successfully measuring the emotional toll. Contagion wants us witness to every part of the process, but a film like 2012, with its myopic focus, strangely makes more sense.

Still, Contagion is a film worth seeing in the theater, if only to place yourself in the "what would I do?" imagination station. If the movie hadn't been so detached, we very well could have been looking at a Best Picture contender, but as it stands it's at least worth the price of admission. Contagion never really gets there, but it gives a reasonable effort. Good enough for a Friday night or a Sunday afternoon, but not quite ready for the bright lights.

Grade: B-