User Reviews

I don't know the background of this movie, was it a middle to large production or maybe a bit more limited budget type of deal. There's at least one scene where a Tokyo street, nothing too famous, has been shut down to film a desolate scene from several different angles. There's also some half decent CGI shots of a burning and empty city. I can see an effort in some of the film to pass it off as a true epidemic, it's just a shame that things fall apart in the details.

What gets me is that the small scenes are fine, but it's the bigger picture that isn't so harmonious. You have a city that's alive, then dead, then alive, then dead again. There's times when the xx days passed since infection, with xx dead and xx infected, that doesn't seem to fit in with the time line that's taking place in the hospital. There's even one scene that left me scratching my head as they were in a travel depot that's clean and well staffed only to walk out onto a street filled with overturned cars and burning garbage everywhere. Things like this abound in the movie and at times just do not add up. It's like one production crew wasn't aware of what the other was doing and in the end it was all edited together without a thought to how events were unfolding.

Really at its core it's a sappy unrequited love film trying to teach lessons but it's set against a backdrop that's too big for the scope of what's taking place. The acting is fair at times but overwrought with over-acting, bad acting, and bad dialog for much of the other. All the English dialog in the movie is also laughable, but it is a Japanese film, so I can't be too harsh there.

And I have to mention the scene where the guy puts his hand over his mouth and takes an item from an infected with the other hand, then swaps it to the hand covering his mouth, then covers his mouth with the infection exposed hand. Inconsistencies like this abound throughout.

The big letdown to me was that a cure was pronounced 2 months into the plague starting, and then we're told that 6 months later a vaccine is made, and then we're shown a bustling and no-worse for wear Tokyo immediately afterward along with a warm fuzzy message to boot.

If you are into sappy Japanese flicks where people yearn for each other in the most strangest of circumstances than this is truly the film for you. If you are into end of the world, plague type flicks this is truly an avoid at all costs film.

For some reason, every one of the epidemic movies I've seen until "Kansen Rettou" ("Infected Islands") have all been cheesefest waste of time.

This blockbuster film was actually very enjoyable. There were some corny lines and slightly forced plots here and there for drama, but overall very well-produced.

The movie has a very strong cast. Tsumabuki Satoshi was excellent as the doctor. The "crying in agony" scene in the end was absolutely wonderful. There are many other actors in Japan who can handle dramatic roles, but truly talented actors can be charming and funny as well. This one particular scene near the end, where he takes a picture with the assistant professor really shows why he's among the best.

They actually got Dan Rei, who has only appeared in major historical roles and stage play, to co-star in this film with Tsumabuki. Many Japanese actors challenge in historical roles and stage plays to improve their acting. Dan Rei, an actress who specializes in such roles, is on a whole different league in modern trendy films. Magnificent acting by both leading actors and their chemistry easily made up for whatever flaws there were to the story and the script. There were many recognizable faces among the supporting actors as well.

The story had depth. "Kansen Rettou" tackled many important issues, such as the constant fear we should have on new diseases, personal sacrifices doctors have to make during emergencies, the "priority system" in choosing which patient to accept, and social responsibility leading to suicide in Japan, just to name a few. Although some aspects of the movie, like bleeding from the eyes and infected zombie foreigners were exaggerated, and two impossibly convenient defibrillator revivals before death, the plot was mostly plausible. The CGI of deserted Japanese cities were pretty realistic and had the "I am Legend" feel to it.

I really liked the final 20 minutes, and this movie far exceeded my expectations.