The Andromeda Strain

Film: The Andromeda Strain
Director: Robert Wise
Year: 1971
Quick Glance:
Earth is attacked by green goo from outter space....
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Mysteriously everyone in a town out in the desert dies. Two soldiers looking for a downed satellite stumble on the town and they themselves die. So begins Andromeda Strain. The premise is interesting -- life from another planet has come to earth and is deadly. A group of scientists have to figure out how to stop the life form and learn as much as they can about it before it spreads. The film is about their research.

The research center "wildfire" a top secret research center underground with all the super top secret 1970 hi tech gadgets ends up being a heavy show off game. A significant time is spent showing "what a cool set we made for the movie" rather than focusing on the story at hand. Some of the acting is mellow dramatic and some of the story premises are kind of illogical. In the end i find myself not really being able to remember how it ended.

The whole concept of another life form from another planet is a very interesting one. I liked Andromeda strain that our mysterious alien was a green glowing goo that could kill a city in seconds. It was tiny and required scientific exploration to uncover the intricacies of being. However, the over the top set and need for fancy effects and story seems to have taken over the logic film and made it more showy than required.