Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The Contaminated Man is a very simple, very uninspired movie. It's one of those movies that I'd better write up soon, because I'm planning to forget it very quickly. The premise has been done a bunch of times before, but I was hopeful that this movie would take it to an exciting new level. It didn't.

15 years ago David (William Hurt) comes home from work and hugs his wife and daughter. Within a few minutes both ladies are dead. It seems David is an unknowing carrier of something horrible that kills within minutes of contact.

Now it's present day Budapest. Joseph (Peter Weller) is a sweet man working security at an infectious disease lab. A victim of downsizing, he's just been fired. The poor guy loses his cool and manipulates his way into the high-security area, unmindful of all the warning signs and the fact that the workers on this floor are all wearing giant suits and air regulators. He's not there to stir up trouble, he just wants to talk to his boss about getting his job back. Words are yelled, trays of chemicals get knocked to the floor and - surprise, surprise - everyone's dead in a few minutes. Everyone except Joseph, that is. It seems that his fate is the same as David's was years earlier. Now another unknowing carrier is walking around infecting everyone he touches.

Who's going to stop this man from killing the entire population of Budapest and beyond? Why, it's David, of course! It seems he's survived whatever happened to him all those years ago, and he now works for the Environmental Protection Agency. His quest - find Joseph and try to cure him, or at least contain him. Helping David will be Holly (Natascha McElhone) and Wyles (Michael Brandon). The problem is that poor Joseph is starting to feel ill. And even though he has no idea how infectious he is, he knows that he's not doing well, and he wants to see his wife and son one last time. But Wyles is convinced that Joseph knows exactly what he's doing, and needs to be stopped, at all costs. Plus Wyles sure doesn't want Joseph talking about what he saw inside that lab.

Does any of this make sense? They do attempt to provide an explanation about what actually happened, first to David, then to Joseph. But the explanation is a bit lame. Just accept the fact that "carriers" survive for about a week unless they're cured, while their victims have no hope, and die in mere minutes.

So what went wrong? Well, the performances for one. Everyone looks like they're sleep-walking through this movie. Peter Weller's Joseph is supposed to be quite ill throughout most of the movie, so we can understand why he's moving and talking as if in slow motion. However, why is William Hurt's acting just as emotionless? The whole movie just has a very amateurish look to it.

The other problem is the complete lack of any real drama or suspense. We never come to care very much for Joseph. We never feel that David's life is really in any danger. The romance angle (naturally there has to be one between David and Holly) is a complete snore-fest. Even an added "government conspiracy" angle does little to wake up this sleepy plot.

Finally, I'm not someone who normally notices product placement or makes a big deal of it. But I think Coke must have sponsored this movie. Holly is never seen without a can of Diet Coke in her hand. And at one point the camera pans to a giant Coke billboard. What should be subtle was completely obvious and laughable in this movie.

The only good thing about this movie is the scenery. It's winter in Budapest and the landscapes are gorgeous.

But other than that, take my advice - skip this one.


Recommended: No

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age