"Soderbergh creates a kind of tapestry of illness and panic, and the structure works like a charm, the film moving like a train, crossing continents and characters in a cut... the film is the kind of smart, grown-up entertainment that mostly doesn't get made anymore, a firmly entertaining, commercial project made with impeccable craft... it's also got a good deal of substance going for it, and it lingers on the mind, and on the skin, for some time afterwards." (Oliver Lyttelton, IndieWire, A-)
"I was shuffling nervously in my seat, edging away from the sniffling man next to me. Nobody shook hands or embraced after this screening... This is a straight-up movie, serious but, crucially, also slightly silly in the knowing Soderbergh style, always aware that it's a disaster movie, not a documentary." (Jason Solomons, The Guardian ***)
"It was well received, but... Contagion felt more like a superior studio thriller than a festival awards contender. On its own terms, it’s satisfying... its story is alarmingly believable and it dwells on the science involved in combating such a virus... anyone remotely concerned about the risk of infection in crowded public places may regard Contagion as a thoroughly believable horror movie." (David Gritten, The Telegraph)
"A shrewd, unsensationalistic, non-visual effects-dependent global disaster melodrama, Contagion creates a credible picture of how the world might react (and, up to a point, has reacted) in the face of a rapidily [sic] spreading mystery disease for which no cure exists.. the fine cast, likely solid critical reaction and undeniable topicality position this as a robust B.O. performer for the early fall season." (Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter)
