User Reviews

OK, so it was written in 1996, before 9/11, so you can give it a little credit for worrying about terrorists and the idea that the CIA director makes a plot to blow this doomed plane out of the sky before it brings doom to the world, is prescient. That's it. That's the good stuff. The acting...fair. The plot...silly. The "twist"... unnecessary. DOOOOOOOOOOOM It isn't as though no one ever thought of what to do when a plane gets contaminated. Don't you think bureaucrats have a manual for "plagues" and how to contain them? Proper execution of such a plan is always a problem, as we saw after Katrina. But they have a plan. It isn't to send them off to Iceland and then to Mauritania. And if the virus is carried in the air, why was the plane door open and the "shooters' standing there with no protection? In fact, did it ever occur to anyone to shoot her legs? That would stop her. But not as dramatic. I'm a sucker. I always watch a movie to see the end, once I started it. But this was a waste of time, and for the most part, predictable. I saw it using a recorder so I didn't have to watch all the ads, that was a plus. It's a good example of why I watch so little network TV. Rubbish.

Based on the book Pandora's Clock by John J. Nance, this movie draws on the author's experiences as a Braniff Airlines pilot by telling the story of a deadly virus on a Boeing 747-200. The governments of the world have left the passengers - including Ambassador Lee Lancaster (Robert Guillaume) - to die, but Captain James Holland (Richard Dean Anderson) and his crew are struggling to save them all.

Nance shows up as a high-ranking Air Force official, plus there's Daphne Zuniga, Jane Leeves, Robert Loggia and Stephen Root on hand.

One could argue my smarts in watching a movie about quarantines and pandemics and viruses while the Omnicron variant is in the news. There are so many disease of the week movies that now are not as much fun to watch as they once were.

Sometimes, Lady Luck smiles on me. I had originally made -- and copied over -- a VHS tape of this wonderful TV presentation. I was heartbroken when I realized what I had done since I had been unable to obtain a copy of it anywhere else.

Recently, I subscribed to digital cable, and while searching through upcoming movies, there to my surprise was a scheduled broadcast of the movie. This time, however, I made a copy of it to DVD so there's no chance of repeating my mistake.

I finally got to watch it again after eight years, and it was just as exciting and tense as when I first saw it. There is a little bit of prelude to this story in that my first contact with "Pandora's Clock" came with a live reading of the book on public radio. I just happened to tune in to the broadcasting station on my way home for lunch, and from the first installment, I was hooked. Each day, I waited with anticipation for the next chapter to be read.

When I learned a few months later that the book was going to be broadcast on TV as a movie, I made sure to clear my schedule for that event.

First of all, I'd like to say that the movie was very true to the book, contrary to what another reviewer had said. That, in itself, is a rare achievement for TV movies.

Secondly, I agree with others about the casting. I could not imagine a better choice for Captain Holland than Richard Dean Anderson. Literally, the movie could have crashed and burned without a proper cast for this pivotal role. Anderson has never been better, and it is a shame that we have not seen more of him. In fact, all of the cast members did a superb job.

My only complaint with the movie -- and the book -- was the interjection of the "terrorist plot" to arm a private business jet with air-to-air missiles and have its pilot stalk and shoot down the stricken plane. Basically, we are talking about less than 36 hours to orchestrate and execute a plan like this one, and folks, that is just not realistic at all given all the players involved. Also not realistic was how little the airliner was affected by having first one, then two of its engines blown off.

That beef aside, I enjoyed the building suspense and found to be very believable how the reactions of foreign governments were portrayed in the film, as well as our own.

If you have an opportunity to see this movie, do so by all means.

This is good made-for-TV thriller, where a professor contracts a deadly virus before he boards a plane with over 200 passengers, endangering the lives of everybody on board. To make things worst, the plane can't land in any country for fear of spreading the virus to the human population, and a secret U.S. government plan to shoot down the plane complicates things even more.

Eric Laneuville did a pretty good job in directing this movie, grabbing your attention from start to finish as the plot quickly identifies the story's main issue, the Doomsday Virus, which Professor Ernest Helms (Michael Winters) contracts from a thief after filming a documentary. The issue is then expanded after Helms boards a plane with over 200 people on board, threatening to spread the virus. All these plot elements and twists in determining the fate of the plane passengers and the government's secret plan to deal with the issue make this a very exciting TV movie that will give you an edge-of-your-seat experience.

The acting was pretty good for the most part and the characters were engaging; ***spoiler ahead, but does not give away ending*** just didn't like the part of the screaming mother who didn't heed to the military's warnings about leaving the plane. That scene put a damper on an otherwise suspenseful movie. ***spoiler ends***

It is a good way to spend three hours or so before the television when you have nothing else to watch. Even the title, Pandora's Clock, is an attention grabber - something that is suitable and mysterious for this doomsday thriller.

Grade B

I have to admit the only reason I watched this movie is because I am a big fan and simply adore Jane Leeves but after watching it boy am I glad to have done so. This film is simply great and although it runs for almost 3 hours I can guarantee that for the entire run your heart wont stop pounding. All of the actors did a very decent job – especially my favorite actress Jane Leeves and yes I am being partial here – no one failed to deliver. I would recommend this movie to anyone who has 3 hours and doesn't know what to do with it, you will be pleasantly surprised. P.S. the CGI is not as high tech as now a days but it is still very good for 1996