We’re All Gonna Die!

The Andromeda Strain (1971) – Wildfire is a state-of-the art, super-secure, super-secret laboratory set up to deal with the worst possible scenario. One day in a remote town in New Mexico, that scenario came true. A satellite has brought something back from space and killed almost everyone in town. Can the team at the lab figure out what it is and how to stop it in time?

Directed by Robert Wise

Starring Arthur Hill, David Wayne, James Olson, Paula Kelly

Why I Liked It – Michael Crichton’s first novel-turned-motion-picture still shows solid thrills

If you’re less than 50 years old, this cast will feel like a band of nobodies. If you have any familiarity with mid-1960s through mid-1970s television and movies, you will spend the movie saying “Wait, I know him/her!” Director Robert Wise chose recognizable non-stars for his cast and found gold along the way. These are veteran character actors with long resumes of performance. They are perfect here. Did that maybe hurt box office back then? Possibly. The movie made enough money to end the year ranked 16^th highest-grossing movie of 1971.

The impact of the movie goes way beyond that. It launched Crichton as a major player in movies. There would be no “Jurassic Park” without this movie. It set the tone for many science fiction, alien “invasion” movies that followed. With a largish budget for its time, “The Andromeda Strain” showed that you could make a quality thriller. It fit in perfectly with the 70s fad for disaster movies.

Having praised the cast, I must note that they’re not given much depth to work with in the characters. That they could turn these cardboard characters into ones that we care about in the movie is more praise for them. Add in the iconic grumpy old drunk, Mr. Jackson (played by George Mitchell), who gets several memorable lines, and there’s plenty to like here.

There are enough twists and turns to keep you interested (even as you laugh at the “high tech” equipment on display. Be nice; it was the early days of electronic tech.) Well worth the time invested.

You can stream “The Andromeda Strain” on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play Movie, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.

Rating – *** Worth A Look