Extraordinary Measures

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Harrison Ford, Keri Russell, Meredith Drueger, Diego Velazquez, Sam M. Hall, Jared Harris, Patrick Bauchau
Directed by: Tom Vaughan
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
2010

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A father (Brendan Fraser) is desperate to save his children, afflicted with a rare disease. He turns to a difficult researcher (Harrison Ford) to develop his work into a usable medicine to save their lives.

Review:

Tim: Extraordinary Measures is a film that has some very positive aspects to it, but ultimately doesn't do enough. I love the story and I am sincerely glad that it is being told in this movie. There are so many relatively unknown and horrible diseases that strike people daily, but for various reasons, don't have a great deal of funding into finding cures. This movie draws attention to that, and hopefully inspires people to get involved. In that aspect, I applaud this movie.

However, a movie's ability to inform is only part of the battle. This is, after all, a movie, and it needs to entertain as well. This is where the movie starts to fall apart. I'm sure it is very easy for critics to claim that this movie feels like a Lifetime original made-for-TV movie. I actually feel that way myself. It feels a bit weepy and made for that audience. This is CBS Films' first movie in over 30 years, and it feels like it comes from people more comfortable working on TV than in the movies. I also have to criticize the mind-numbingly boring title. Extraordinary Measures is such a bland title, it made me not want to see this movie.

The film itself is also flawed. The acting is occasionally quite bad. Brendan Fraser deserves some credit for his adult role here, and I mostly liked him as a desperate father going to great lengths to save his children. However, Fraser isn't the greatest actor in the world, and the film is occasionally hurt by his off moments. Harrison Ford, on the other hand, as apparently forgotten how to act in his older years. I honestly cannot remember the last time I really enjoyed a Harrison Ford performance. He's been mailing it in for close to a decade. Here, he is just too smug and unbelievable as Dr. Stonehill. I know why he chose the role- it is a meaty one that would allow him to hit a wide range of emotions while appearing as the pain-in-the-ass with a heart of gold. It might have worked for a number of other actors, but in Ford's clumsy hands, he comes across as ridiculous and trying too hard. I never thought I'd see the day when I openly criticize Harrison Ford as an actor, but after films like (horrible acting), Firewall, Hollywood Homicide and others, I'm starting to think Ford is washed up.

The supporting cast is decent, but there are really no standouts. I liked the presence of Keri Russell, but I wish she had something (anything!) of substance to do. Nope, this film is totally in the hands of Fraser and Ford, and the two gentlemen don't exactly hit it out of the park.

While deeply flawed, this is still a heartwarming story about the lengths a father will go to protect his children. That is always an enjoyable story, and the film has a clear villain in disease, which makes it easy to root for the good guys. While I was very disappointed in certain aspects of this film, I also love the fact that this important story was told in this manner. While this one didn't exactly work, more of these movies need to be made. Anytime you can draw attention to issues like this using entertainment outlets, I am a fan. So, while I'm glad the story was told, I didn't like the execution of the story. This film should have been significantly better. I don't think that this is a good movie, but the subject matter and the ability to refrain from slipping into the melodramatic means that Extraordinary Measures is at least a decent movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: My Sister's Keeper, The Cure