Nonetheless, these 3 hours seem to go by faster than the 2:11 of the original film. The four-episode A&E miniseries runs a total of 3 hours. Interestingly, the miniseries version of “The Andromeda Strain” (2008) – which came out six months before Crichton’s death – is not a tight thriller but rather an expanded version. “The Andromeda Strain” is a classic example of an old film that’s worthy of a remake: It has name recognition but could use some modernization.
Movie: 2.5 stars “The Andromeda Strain” (2008 miniseries)
WERE ANY ANIMALS KILLEDIN THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN MOVIE MOVIE
And it’s the first Crichton adaptation, so – inasmuch as I’m doing this Michael Crichton Monday series – I stayed locked in for the sake of soaking up history.īut judged as an entertainment experience, “The Andromeda Strain” is so slow-paced that the opposite of the rule of thumb applies: For the fast-paced, easily accessible version, skip the movie and read the novel. The acting isn’t bad – the four actors infuse personality into placeholder characters – and the art design, while almost as show-offy as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” is good for its era this is what a 1971 government science bunker would look like. The top 100 ‘Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’ songs, ranked But I can also easily see the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” gang making fun of the sequence. The tension picks up for the grand finale of Hall (James Olson) climbing the shaft to get to a substation, mainly because self-destruct countdowns are inherently suspenseful. Technology trumps thrillsĪs a techno-thriller, Wise’s film is heavy on the technology, light on the thrills. Throw in the bunker-obscuring desert cornfields, and I’d be stunned if “The X-Files” didn’t draw from “The Andromeda Strain.” Indeed, the two projects both aim to draw suspense from scientists/investigators gleaning little bits of information here and there, and from threats that are tucked away in medical facilities. Leavitt (Kate Reid) even throws in a sarcastic “Another giant leap for mankind!” (The film, unlike the book, came out after the first moon landing.) government in bringing a germ from the upper atmosphere back to Earth, perhaps part of biological-warfare research. Gidding gives us a debate between by-the-book team leader Stone (Arthur Hill) and individualist Dutton (David Wayne) about the irresponsibility of the U.S. More broadly, “The Andromeda Strain” slots into the categories of dystopian SF and conspiracy noir – both popular in the ’70s. This and other specifics of scientific research – and the newfangled notion of computers assisting the process – are fascinating enough to Gidding and Wise (and perhaps some viewers) that they are worth lingering upon. It’s not the best way to build suspense, but maybe it was different enough to be compelling 50 years ago.Īs with the only slow part of Crichton’s book, a lot of time is spent showing the quartet moving through the sterilization locks of the five-level Wildfire bunker.
When the two scientists investigate the town of Piedmont (changed from Arizona to New Mexico for no apparent reason), one side of the screen shows them peering into homes and the other side shows a snapshot of the corpse therein. Director Robert Wise gives us an early example of multiple images in a frame.