Fatal Contact: Bird Flu In America (Telefilm)
Picture: C+ Sound: B- Extras: D Telefilm: C-
Overdramatic
TV movies used to be fun, but now, they are just plain melodramatic and out to
capitalize on any disaster in today’s headlines. Back in the day of the Big Three Networks,
when there was not several non-stop news channels and mass media was not where
it is now, the simplest of such works were smart and entertaining enough to
tune into. Today, the telefilm (even on
cable) is lame and one of the poorest this critic has seen recently is Fatal Contact: Bird Flu In America (2006).
The
primary reason for the failure is the remarkably awful teleplay written by Ron
McGee, who wrote a horrible script for Daydream
Believer: The Monkees Story and a Meat Loaf telefilm among his other inane
works. If you though he could not handle
Pop/Rock music, wait until you see how he ruins what could be a serious
international medical crisis!
The cast
includes Joely Richardson, Ann Cusack, Stacy Keach and a series of mostly
unknown actors running around acting strung out and “shocked” as the crisis
gets worse. The proceedings scream “24” and that is the most wishful
thinking of this or any other season.
Saddest of all is director Richard Pierce, the once great cinematographer
settling for second rate silliness far below him as a director who seems bored
with his work. Here is a man who shot
classics like Woodstock, the
documentary classic Hearts & Minds
and even the interesting Frank Zappa feature Baby Snakes. This is so many
miles away form that, it is not funny.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is on the colorless side, has some
softness and detail issues, and most likely was shot in digital High
Definition. “24” looks so much better, but they are trying to ape the look of
that hit here. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix
is limited in its surrounds and never impresses much. Shows like “24” have better sound too.
There are no extras, which is no surprise, but if you want to see a film
that is like “24” besides just
getting DVDs of the show, try the MGM DVD release of Michael Crichton’s Pursuit. It is one of the inspirations for “24” and shows how to do this kind of
telefilm right!
- Nicholas Sheffo
