The Top 15 Virus Outbreak and Pandemic Films Ranked by Metacritic Score

7. I Am Legend – Metacritic score 65

This is one of Will Smith’s best movies. It is based on a novel by Richard Matheson, which had multiple adaptations. It’s New York City and there’s a virus running rampant which wiped out so many people. Of course, Will Smith’s is immune to it so it’s up to him to develop a cure. The Village Voice reviewer wrote, “In what has been a pretty remarkable career up to now, it’s this performance that fully affirms Smith as one of the great leading men of his generation.”

6. Light of My Life – Metacritic score 67

Casey Affleck wrote and directed Light of My Life, a 2019 movie about  a mysterious pandemic that wiped out most of the female population. Screen Daily’s Fionnuala Halligan wrote, “A superb performance by Affleck, who constructs a touching and believable rapport with his 11 year-old co-star, grounds his low-key directorial and feature-writing debut.”

 5. Contagion – Metacritic score 70

A good movie with a great cast of actors, including Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, and Sanaa Lathan. It focuses on a disease that turns into a pandemic and a vaccine is needed to stop it. Sound familiar? The Village Voice wrote, “If Contagion truly is the first leg of Soderbergh’s retirement victory lap, this harrowing film is a potent reminder of what we stand to lose.”

4. Train to Busan – Metacritic score 72

Heading up to the top of the chart, Train to Busan is a 2016 South Korean horror film about a zombie apocalypse. Variety’s Maggie Lee writes, “Train to Busan pulses with relentless locomotive momentum. As an allegory of class rebellion and moral polarization, it proves just as biting as Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi dystopia “Snowpiercer,” while delivering even more unpretentious fun.”

3. 12 Monkeys – Metacritic score 74

This 1995 film stars Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt and sits at number three on our critics list. A deadly virus  wipes out almost all of humanity and the survivors go underground. A prisoner is trained to go back in time and find the original virus to develop a cure. Christian Science Monitor’s David Sterritt wrote, “Bruce Willis is bruisingly good as the hero and Brad Pitt is suitably zany as the activist who dogs his trail.”

2. 28 Weeks Later – Metacritic score 78

At number two on the chart with a 78 Metacritic score, 28 Weeks Later focuses on six months after a rage virus on the population of Great Britain. Now it’s time to repopulate the earth again, but do they actually do it? The Hollywood Reporter’s Ray Bennett writes, “A ferociously entertaining thriller with sympathetic characters, stunning set pieces and pulsating excitement.”

1. Children of Men – Metacritic score 84

Sitting at number one on the critics review list is Children of Men, a 2006 movie that stars Julianne Moore and Clive Owen. In the movie, it’s now 2027, and women have become infertile and a woman who becomes pregnant woman is carried to a sanctuary for protection. With a score of 100, the Los Angeles Times’ Kenneth Turan writes, “Made with palpable energy, intensity and excitement, it compellingly creates a world gone mad that is uncomfortably close to the one we live in. It is a “Blade Runner” for the 21st century, a worthy successor to that epic of dystopian decay.”

Leave your thoughts on the top 15 virus outbreak and pandemic films by Metacritic score and this article below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more editorials can visit our Editorial Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications of new top ten films? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Flipboard.