save yourself a few tedious hour and skip this crap and see the 1971 original . this be another example of a movie that have nothing go for it but the good feeling a viewer might have about the original . ( how appropriate that i first learn about it while wait for the lousy indiana jones 4 to begin . ) so and so and so much padding . ( and even so and a and e manage to stuff in almost 80 minute of commercial in the two night run . ) ridiculous plot line that go nowhere ( the geraldo style reporter and vent mining ) and unnecessary time waster shot of animal eat each other ( all just to establish the infection vector of a rat drop onto a group of national guardsman ) family squabble that go nowhere . all of these have the unmistakable feel of an effort to reach a predetermined running time . the problem be and when length be more important a goal than quality and nothing can be leave on the cutting room floor . trim to two hour and this just might have be a watchable movie . even if decently edit to tighten up the pacing and there then the problem of reeediculous plot device that be add to this adaptation . for example represent telepathic germ ( you get ta be freak kid ) message from the future ( i freak wish i be kid ) note to future guys represent instead of 739528 and maybe hey and look on the space station would get your point across a little well orbit wormhole ( still not kid ) blackbird attack that kill soldier in helmet and full combat gear ( shade of alfred hitchcock ) endless blather about vent mining and and even a terrorist attack on a vent mining platform . ( oops . do we forget to explain what that have to do with the story . ) pass the thumb andromeda race across the countryside turn everything yellow . dime store cgi ( be talk sci fi channel original quality ) use even in scene where the real thing would have be easy and more effective represent flame thrower and dry blood sift from a cut and the inexplicable fall debris in the core . be the action drag . time for some guardsman to buy the farm . hollywood leftist paranoia represent the evil team of general mancheck and colonel farris and military hit men and nsa stash a final vial of the pathogen and and ( my personal favorite ) the company enburton ( enron plus halliburton . ) run the vent mining operation . michael crichton write the original novel of the andromeda strain and and the 1971 movie remember so fondly by many be a quite faithful adaptation . you have hear of michael crichton because he have write lot of excite and interesting science fiction and much of which have be turn into movie ( of vary quality . ) this adaptation be write by robert schenkkan . you likely haven not hear of him and because he be ask to write almost nothing else for the screen . judge from this production and there would seem to be a reason for that . he have write a number of well receive play and but apparently that talent do not translate well to television while what i recall of his 2004 spartacus miniseries be on the level of andromeda . ( trekkie alert represent a a c list actor and schenkkan be best remember for eat an alien cockroach and then get his head blow up and when he play commander remmick in the st representtng first season episode conspiracy . ) if this be the best a and e can do and i hope that in the future they will just stay out of the science fiction genre . at the very least they should produce original story and instead of muck up remake of perfectly good predecessor . i will never get those four hour back and but you still have a chance to miss this movie . consider yourself warn .