This Is Not Your Father's Andromeda Strain

When director Robert Wise adapted Michael Crichton's bestselling science fiction novel The Andromeda Strain into the 1971 movie starring Arthur Hill and David Wayne, many applauded its meticulous attention to detail and fidelity to the book (it was nominated for a Hugo and for Oscars in editing and design), but found the end result a little arid. The 1971 film takes its cue from the impersonal computers that run the Wildfire complex; not only are the machines inhuman, but the scientists are presented as scientists first, people second. In a way, this is the point: one of the themes of The Andromeda Strain is essentially systems dynamics, in viruses and people.

Now another famous director, Ridley Scott, has taken on the same material, though the actual directing chores have been left to Mikael Salomon (Fallen, Hard Rain). A cast of highly recognizable names was assembled, including Benjamin Bratt, Rick Schroder (24), Eric McCormack, Daniel Dae Kim (Lost), Andre Braugher, Viola Davis (Disturbia), and Christa Miller (Scrubs). (Further down the cast list are names from other sci-fi series, including Magda Apanowicz (Kyle XY), Colin Lawrence (Battlestar Galactica), and Panou (Flash Gordon).) Some sort of development hell resulted in the project's migration from Sci Fi, which announced it four whole years ago, to A&E.

Perhaps in an effort to avoid the flatness of the 1971 film, great liberties have been taken with Crichton's story in order to provide more drama and excitement. Of course some modernization of the original novel is absolutely necessary – after all, a key plot point in the book hinges on the failure of a teletype machine that's disabled by a bit of punched paper. But the 2008 version adds wormholes, eco-terrorists, and additional mutations for the virus that cause aggressive birds and uncontrollable nuclear missiles. The creators, including Salomon and scriptwriter Robert Schenkkan (who's better known as an actor – he played Remmick on Star Trek: The Next Generation), seem to have missed the point of the book: it's not about the virus running amok or conspiracies and evil plots. The Andromeda Strain is about human fallibility – the mistakes that are made every day by humans and the machines they create.

Video can be found on the official site here; and I have an image gallery here.