Gwyneth Paltrow in a scene from the film

MANILA, Philippines – While other global virus pandemic films focus on the physical outcome of the disease and/or the gory deaths either caused by a zombie-converted race or one that is inflicted by the government to wipe out the virus-infected populace, “Contagion” director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Burns zero in on men’s struggle to protect themselves at all cost and the stark panic and paranoia an outbreak causes—both of which spread as fast as the virus itself.

Despite the movie starring mostly Oscar winners and nominees, “Contagion” is reminiscent of all other  virus pandemic films: unknown virus spreads, victimizes and kills the entire human race, government commands that the few survivors together with the immune ones be quarantined, eventually scientists come up with a cure, and then for some reason, the flick ends with a cliffhanger that the virus may not have been cured after all. Wash, rinse, repeat.

The lethal virus’ carrier was Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) who returned to Minneapolis from a business trip to Hong Kong. What she thought was jet lag characterized by a splitting headache and fever takes a dangerous turn. Two days later, she’s dead in the ER and the doctors tell her shocked and grieving husband Mitch (Matt Damon) they have no idea why.

Soon, others exhibit the same mysterious symptoms: hacking cough and fever, followed by a seizure, brain hemorrhage and ultimately, death. Not long after, the death toll escalates and the cause remains undetermined. But one thing is certain: the contagion sweeps across the border by mere human interaction or by contact to an object touched by the infected.

At the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, researchers headed by a deft scientist (Jennifer Ehle) mobilize to break the code of a unique biological pathogen as it continues to mutate. Meanwhile, Deputy Director Chever (Laurence Fishburne) tries to allay the growing panic by sending the brave epidemic expert (Kate Winslet) into harm’s way.

At the same time, amid a rising tide of suspicion over a potential vaccine – and who gets it first – Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cottilard) of the World Health Organization works through the network of connections that could lead to the source of what they’re dealing with. All these happen while a conspiracy theorist blogger (Jude Law) claims that the public isn’t getting the truth about what’s going on.

Chaos in a movie, that’s what action-thriller “Contagion” is all about. It’s the film where award-winning stars are simply not enough to save an obviously sinking film. It has a terrific soundtrack though; one that allows you to identify whether or not the scene is good or bad. It’s effective, imaginative even.

When it comes to the acting, Winslet, as expected, was strong in her role as a true humanitarian hero dying for the sake of her duty. Also noticeably good was Ehle, whose fervor to resolve the enigma behind the mutating virus was unwavering enough to discover the cure for it.

Cotillard gave off a last minute twist to her subplot, but for some bizarre reason it was abandoned and what would have been a monumentally dramatic scene went down the drain. Law as the muckraking blogger seemed lost; first he rouses panic then somewhere along the film he ends up not knowing what he really wants to achieve.

In terms of technicalities, admittedly the film’s camera angling was stylish enough to let the tension peak. Think of scene after scene of Beth’s every point of contact with objects, which others would eventually touch. However, the said treatment stretched longer than necessary to the point that the subplots were only given short shrifts. After plodding for too long on the infection, you at least hope for some sort of surprise, or at least a surprise ending, but sadly it doesn’t come, and you leave the cinema feeling like something in the whole picture is amiss. You're probably not alone.

“Contagion” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment company and is currently being shown in IMAX and regular theaters nationwide.