I was so looking forward to seeing Extraordinary Measures because I was intrigued by the billboard. It showed Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser walking through a tunnel-like structure carrying serious and determined expressions on their faces. It made me think this was going to be another Patriot Games or Clear and Present Danger. Where were they going, I asked myself. It must be somewhere urgent. Extraordinary Measures! The title sounds like an action / revenge film.
I like going into films without knowing much about them, so I didn't have a clue that this was a medical drama instead of a thriller. Even so, I have nothing against dramas if they are good dramas. The problem here is that there is absolutely no chemistry between Ford, during perhaps the worst acting job of his entire life, and Fraser, who goes through the motions with very little inspiration until a sappy, Jerry Springeresque speech at the end. These two talented actors, or should I say the characters they play, don't like each other very much so there is no camaraderie in their partnership.
Ford's character is am annoying stereotype. We've seen it before a dozen times, the eccentric genius. We saw it in Armadaeus, we saw it in The Astronaut Farmer, we saw it in that Howard Hues movie with Leonardo DiCaprio. But those characters were at least likable to a certain extent. In Extraordinary Measures, Ford's character is for the most part in a complete state of anger--he is just plain mean to everyone, and that gets old quickly. Ford's character is simply not convincing as a scientist either. We are told that he is suppose to be brilliant but he doesn't seem to be very brilliant at all. He seems kind of stupid, as a matter of fact.
This could have been a very exciting and emotional tear jerker with some corporate intrigue mixed in, but instead Extraordinary Measures completely lacks passion. The plot is predictable and everyone in it goes through the motions almost dead pan. No effort was made whatsoever to get us to understand the science that the characters are working on, so we ultimately don't care about whether it succeeds or not. On a human level this movie is just not very realistic. With all the stress involved with Fraser's character quitting his job and putting it all on the line to help this grouchy scientist find a cure for this obscure illness, you would think there would be more tension, perhaps a few explosive moments. There aren't any. The story drags on and on with nothing much happening.
I almost feel guilty for being completely bored by Extraordinary Measures, because I know I'm suppose to care about the poor sick kids. But sadly I don't, and this is coming from someone who can't sit through Bridges of Madison County without going through half a box of Kleenex. I realize that this is loosely based on a true story, but unfortunately it is simply not very entertaining movie making.
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