Carriers

This is a movie where the characters just make mistake after mistake. Very little team work, it is amazing they have made it this far. They seem to have rules just to break, to the risk and detriment to their own lives and safety.

The movie begins with some friends headed to the beach for some surfing. But they are not really headed to the beach to have fun, they are headed there since they know a hotel that is isolated which could offer them a barrier between them and the infection. The two brothers used to be taken here by their parents for family vacations.

This movie is another virus movie, with humanity on the brink. How many of these have they made? About as many assassin movies and Drew Berrymore love stories.

Star Trek's Chris Pine returns as the tough guy in the film. Brian is his name and he has a miniture brother names Danny played by Lou Taylor Pucci. Brian plays the typical hard ass but he seems to be the only one who can make the tough decision. His wimpy brother undermines him the entire movie and does not even have the decency to respect him when the times are tough.

There first encounter in the movie, that we see, is with a man and his daughter. They drive around the large GMC SUV but in doing so they damage their oil pan. The father wants some of their gas but they notice the daughter is infected when she looks out of the window. Danny did not see it but Bobby does. Bobby is played by Piper Perabo from Coyote Ugly. Piper is pretty but is not as applealing as she used to be. Perhaps she is but the competition has increased and is more readily found. New young talent over shadows her or could have been given a chance like J-Ray or Natalina Maggio. Casting is very important, but Piper is a better choice than Kirsten Dunst for sure.

The average looking Emily VanCamp is the fourth musketeer in this movie. She is Kate and her relationship with Danny is to be determined. Kate notices the sick daughter in the SUV which is purposely blocking the rode. She urges them and Brian to ditch them. The Father which is approaching their car is carrying a crow bar and attempts to break into their car as they speed away. Why he did not fill up his tank and have extra gas in that large SUV is beyond me. But this father is Law and Order SVU's own
Christopher Meloni. He is Frank.

Frank and his daughter come back into the picture when the group's car runs out of oil about a mile down the road. They argue about their choices but Brian and most of them, but his brother, knows they must return and take that SUV. They figure the daughter is already dead and the father is infected as well.

As they walk back up the road to Frank's stationary SUV, Brian retains his hand gun which he has been carrying. The standoff ensues, Frank not wanting to give up his SUV. Frank is hollering that he has heard on some frequency about a lab in a town along way up the road has found a serum. This serum can defeat the disease. Danny's idea is too put the father and daughter in the rear, taping a plastic shield between them and the backseat. This seems to be the winning idea. Strike one up for Danny but his future bonehead moves bash this bright idea down on its head.

They reach the town and lab appears to be in a High School. There is a doctor there working, researching something with dead bodies with lights on them spread out around the cafeteria's floor. The doctor has his makeshift labaratory set up towards the end of the cafeteria, encased in plastic. Frank starts asking him questions. But the doctor seems to be on another agenda. He has three children in the plastic with him and he is pooring juice from a Gatorade container. But the liquid is not juice. The doctor informs Frank it is potassium in the liquid. I am not sure the scientific merits or basis behind this. But it appears ominous. Frank asks for Brian's gun. Brian dictates to Frank that there is not a cure. He is right. But Danny grabs the gun from Brian, coming from behind and hands it to Frank. Frank puts the doctor at gunpoint and orders the doctor to stand down. The doctor is already visibily infected. Frank is explained by the doctor that his actions are futile. There is not any cure, the generator will soon run out of power-fuel,these children are already infected, and the best course of action is to quickly end this brutal nightmare.

Frank is perplexed and ruined. He places the gun down before he walks out. Danny, Kate and Brian leave. In the SUV, Bobby has elected to remain behind and keep the small girl company. This is going fine when the girl is hit with complications. Bobby does the stupid thing and rips down the plastic. Then she does the biggest bonehead move in the movie and tries to comfort the child. The child coughs up blood on her, some must have gone into her mouth or eyes. It had to be a puny amount, most went on her sweat shirt which she did her best to keep the others from noticing. She quickly tapes up the plastic shield. Bobby did not even notice, nor did I, a trace amount which entered into her system. But she did not even wipe herself down after this incident since she did not want the returning others to become curious. So she puts them all at risk. She is completely selfish. Perhaps she could have saved herself if she quickly wiped her face down and hands.

Frank and the daughter are left behind despite the wimpy Danny's protests. They got them there and that was the deal explained Brian. What does Danny want them to do, haul them in the rear to their getaway spot, an infected girl? He is a fool. He may have been accepted into Yale but this proves he is only booksmart.

They stop at a fancy desert resort. Kind of like the Marriot I stayed at in North Phoenix, in the desert ofcourse. They play some golf, Brian acts moronic and wrecks a golf cart. Every place they stop at is a potential hazard. At night, the two girls are walking around the place and are caught by armed men in bio hazard suits. They order the girls to strip down and this is where they notice Piper is infected. The men order them to leave, they comply. Piper had a large purple spot under her lower left breast.

Several hours goes by, after sunrise, Brian pulls over and orders Bobby to get out of the car. Bobby pleads to remain, even to get in the back. This is after she has already kissed Brian and allowed him to hug her. She basically murdered her boyfriend for not informing him and the group what happened when she was in the SUV alone with the child. Kate does not stick up for her but the punk Danny may have said something.

They have another road encounter when Brian is shot but kills both older woman for their gas. He asked nicely at first. Why people can not get along is testiment to how destructive human beings are. But is this accurate? They stop at home and now Danny is forced to the man. He goes in that dark and beat up home, has to shoot a german shephard who is eating the owner in his bed, but does succeed in grabbing some medicine for his brother. While patching him up on his leg, he notices Brian is infected as well. Later that night, after they built a fire, Danny does the punk thing and tries to sneak out with Emily. Leaving his brother to die a miserable death in the desert. He does not even have the decency to discuss their options and convince Brian he can no longer come with them. Brian would not give up the car keys, which is dumb and selfish, so he forces his brother to shoot him for them. Pathetic and terrible.

Emily and her book smart boyfriend reach the beach house to begin a life.

OK, lets rehash this a little. Why Brian, Bobby and the two others do not have more ammunition is beyond me. Especially since humanity has ran into another dark age. Morality seems to be relevent at best. I would have a bullet proof vest, more food and water, they seem to have barely enough clothes. All this stuff would have been simple to obtain as the cities and town's died out. They did have sufficient disenfectant and basic masks. I will credit them this.

This movie is not a full length movie, devoid of music, shows little talent for humor, as I explained before, had some casting miscues. Where is Jennifer Love Hewitt? Certainly this movie is not unique. I do like Pine and Meloni though in this film. This movie is not quite full length either, about 76 minutes.

I allocate this film 2 stars.**