Desperate Measures

Starring:Michael Keaton, Andy Garcia, Neal Matarazzo, Brian Cox, Marcia Gay Harden, Erik King, Efrain Figueroa, Joseph Cross, Janel Moloney, Richard Riehle, Tracey Walter, Peter Weireter, Keith Diamond, Steve Park, Steven Schub, Dennis Cockrum, Charles Noland, Randy Thompson, Michael Shamus Wiles, Darren Pearce (II)
Director: Barbet Schroeder
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Call it "Desperate Movie," because this ludicrous thriller deteriorates into unintentional comedy. For reasons that are never explained, a sociopathic killer (Michael Keaton) is the only available bone marrow donor for the cancer-stricken son of a San Francisco cop (Andy Garcia), who must capture the killer alive after a laughable escape in a labyrinthine hospital. The ensuing manhunt relies on plentiful plot holes and ridiculous shortcuts (like Keaton's use of a surgical laser to cut leg irons, or accessing hospital schematics from a prison computer). Self-consciously shot in film noir style, the cat-and-mouse routine leads to a briefly impressive car chase, but the premise (which even the movie's original press notes described as "intriguing, if unlikely") is based on "moral ambiguity" that doesn't translate from script to screen. Instead of forcing Keaton's typically "sick genius" to prove his ingenuity, the film pits him against a squad of cops who couldn't find a beer in a crowded pub. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Stat!.......2007-03-31

Finally, a movie that helps explain why I'm so unusually nice to homicidal maniacs - one man's homicidal maniac might be another man's son's bone marrow donor. Happens all the time!

Annoying snore..........2006-08-16

I'm wondering when it became a federal crime to have a PLOT in a movie anymore. The writers of "Desperate Measures" apparently thought an interesting and coherent storyline would get them a seat in the death house because they avoided anything even remotely connected to reality in this movie.

First, there's the eminently annoying Andy Garcia. His usual tics are in full bloom - this guy has more twitches than Clint Eastwood on speed. His son needs a bone marrow transplant, and the only human being on the entire earth who is a match is psycho killer Michael Keaton.

The movie is about how Garcia tries to keep the nutcase alive after he torches the hospital personnel and shoots all the cops in his escape attempt. The boy who plays the son is adorable; one of the few kids who actually ACTS like a kid. And Michael Keaton really has a knack for psycho parts (although I still miss his "Batman" hero performances.) Both Keaton and the kid are the only reason it even merits two stars.

But it's the idea that no matter what this guy does, who he kills, he MUST live so Garcia's kid can get a transplant. After one of the many slaughter scenes in the movie, the police captain says to Garcia, "How many cops have to die so your son can live?"

Good freaking question!

Exciting, to say the least.......2006-02-01

Michael Keaton puts in another excellent turn as a bad guy. This time he's a multi-murdering felon in a maximum security prison.

Overall, this movie will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. I agree that the plot is a bit unbelievable, but why should movies be believable anyway. Aren't movies supposed to transport you to another place where reality is temporarily suspended.

Deserves 5 stars for thrills, acting and dark humor.

DRASTIC MEASURES PERHAPS?.......2005-10-22

Admittedly preposterous and implausible, DESPERATE MEASURES is nonetheless a tidy and engaging thriller. Director Barbet Schroeder eschews his usual heavy handed drama for this action thriller in which Michael Keaton plays a very vile criminal who happens to be the only donor available for the dying child of cop Andy Garcia. Brian Cox is underused in his role as Garcia's boss, and Marcia Gay Harden has done better than this role as the persistent doctor. Garcia's performance is dedicated, and Joseph Cross as the young boy is charmingly effective. Keaton, however, seems to be playing his role as a comic character instead of the outlandishly evil man he is. The ending is one that will probably irritate you, it did me, but overall the movie does what it was probably supposed to do.

Fast paced thriller........2005-06-16

Michael Keaton does a great job of acting in this role. He plays an intelligent psychotic killer. By far one of his best performances. I could actually believe him as a sociopath. Andy Garcia delivers a good performance as a father who will stop at nothing to save his sons life. But his acting does not come up to the same standard as Mr. Keaton's in this movie.

The movie is about a father who is trying to save his son's life. His son is dying of cancer and needs a bone marrow transplant. But we learn at the begining of the movie that there are no donor's that match. Garcia, as a police officer, and the boys father illegally breaks into the FBI's computer in order to use their resoures to find a compatible donor. And he does, in the form of an inmate played by Keaton.

Keaton's character has the right blood type to give the boy the required bone marrow. He finally agrees to help the boy. We see him prepare for what he hopes will be his escape to freedom from the hospital. Will he escape or decide to take his one chance at redemption by helping this boy. And if this would have been played out as a story of redemption, it would have easily gotten a five star rating.

But it seems a suspense thriller was wanted instead of a great drama. So Keaton escapes. And we have the time critical chase. The police just want him caught dead or alive. Of course Garcia's character needs him alive, in order to save his boy. Would any of this happen in real life....no chance. But it does make for a fast pace thriller. You will be caught up in the great direction and wounderful cinematography. This film has been underrated and does deserve to be viewed. I found it entertaining.

Average customer rating:

Stat!
Annoying snore...
Exciting, to say the least
DRASTIC MEASURES PERHAPS?
Fast paced thriller.

Desperate Measures [Region 2]
Starring: Michael Keaton , Andy Garcia , Brian Cox , Marcia Gay Harden , and Erik King
Director: Barbet Schroeder
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Unsaid
The Fan
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Jennifer 8 (Widescreen Edition)
Pacific Heights

ASIN: B00004RYOW

Amazon.com

Michael Keaton does a credible impersonation of Hannibal Lecter in this far-fetched but pulse-quickening thriller about a cop (Andy Garcia) whose dying son needs a rare form of bone marrow possessed only by a death-row psychopath (Keaton). After agreeing to become a donor, the killer uses the procedure as an opportunity for escape, taking over the hospital and grabbing hostages. The story's promising hook is that Garcia's character himself has to defy authorities in order to end the siege and extract Keaton unharmed. That's pretty much the course of action for the rest of the film, though a failure to make all this completely believable becomes a problem. Director Barbet Schroeder, pursuing a theme consistent with the unholy ties forged between crazies and noncrazies in his earlier films (Reversal of Fortune, Single White Female), strains to create a psychic bridge between the desperate hero and Keaton's mind-bending villain. While the effort is laudable, the connection between cop and criminal is a little too obvious for penetrating exploration. Some of the action sequences, too, are misguided and redundant. Having said that, however, it is always fun to watch Keaton play nut cases, and his character's glee at feeling his power exponentially grow in this situation is highly entertaining. Marcia Gay Harden does a good job as a kind of intermediary in the tense scenario, an ally to the good guy and forced confederate of the bad guy. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Stat!.......2007-03-31

Finally, a movie that helps explain why I'm so unusually nice to homicidal maniacs - one man's homicidal maniac might be another man's son's bone marrow donor. Happens all the time!

Annoying snore..........2006-08-16

Exciting, to say the least.......2006-02-01

DRASTIC MEASURES PERHAPS?.......2005-10-22

Fast paced thriller........2005-06-16

Desperate Measures (Widescreen and Full Screan)

Average customer rating:

Desperate Measures (Widescreen and Full Screan)

Manufacturer: Mandalay Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000RRSF94

Product Description

A sociopathic killer (Michael Keaton) is the only available bone marrow donor for the cancer-stricken son of a San Francisco cop (Andy Garcia), who must capture the killer alive

Average customer rating:

Desperate Measures [Region 2]
Starring: Michael Keaton , Andy Garcia , Neal Matarazzo , Brian Cox , and Marcia Gay Harden
Director: Barbet Schroeder
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00004VY5L

Average customer rating:

Stat!
Annoying snore...
Exciting, to say the least
DRASTIC MEASURES PERHAPS?
Fast paced thriller.

Desperate Measures [Region 2]
Starring: Michael Keaton , Andy Garcia , Neal Matarazzo , Brian Cox , and Marcia Gay Harden
Director: Barbet Schroeder
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Thrillers | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Unsaid
The Fan
Night Falls on Manhattan
Jennifer 8 (Widescreen Edition)
Pacific Heights

ASIN: B00004XQTT

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Stat!.......2007-03-31

Finally, a movie that helps explain why I'm so unusually nice to homicidal maniacs - one man's homicidal maniac might be another man's son's bone marrow donor. Happens all the time!

Annoying snore..........2006-08-16

Exciting, to say the least.......2006-02-01

DRASTIC MEASURES PERHAPS?.......2005-10-22

Fast paced thriller........2005-06-16

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