Desperate Measures (1998)

Barbet Schroeder doesn't fare well in this directorial attempt. "Desperate Measures" is a film that has been seen in other forms before, better made. The screen play by David Klass doesn't make sense at all.

With that out of the way, this hospital thriller is fun to watch because of the intensity of both lead men performances. Michael Keaton, the bad guy in this film, shows an evil side not found in any of his performances before. He is equally matched by Andy Garcia, not one of our favorite actors. Mr. Garcia tends to shout and get incomprehensible at the most dramatic moments.

The last sequences of the film pack a lot of action, and once we have settled back to accept the silliness of the whole thing, we go for the ride. The chase and bridge scenes are staged well; they'll keep the viewer glued to the screen.

Watch Michael Keaton as we haven't seen him before.

Fmovies: Like my summary says... with Michael Keaton in a movie... you can expect a good one. I didn't see this until 2001 when I got it on VHS, but I loved it from the first time I seen it. And Michael plays such a good villan, it is unreal! I will definantley give this a ten out of ten.

This fast paced, exciting and gripping movie was written by David Klass and directed by Barbet Schroeder. It relates the story of Frank Connor, (Andy Garcia) a police detective who's son is desperately ill and needs a bone marrow transplant. However, when the perfect donor is located, it turns out he's in a maximum security prison and belongs to one, Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton). McCabe is a serious minded, multiple murderer who's I.Q. is in the genius range. Connor's is desperate enough to try anything to save his son and that includes releasing the prisoner from his maximum enclosure, long enough to extract the necessary ingredient while under the most stringent security measures available. However, despite the nearly impregnable restrains, McCabe is incredibly versatile, crafty and learns the weaknesses of his jailers, enough to exploit their mistakes and take advantage of their ignorance. From the moment the prisoner is removed from his incarceration, the audience is given an explosive, action-oriented and dramatic film which makes for a great escape. Keaton is magnificent and his role will surely make this effort a Classic. ****

Desperate Measures fmovies. It may not be perfect, but it's everything an action movie should be. Great characters (especially Keaton's great bad guy), explosions, chases, everything. So what if it's predictable. It's plot is better than you'd expect. Usually, the bad guy is just killed at the end. There is no other action movie like "Desperate Measures", because Andy Garcia protects the bag guy from the cops. If you like action movies, rent it. It's no best pic, but it's well worth watching.

Andy Garcia is the "hero" in this predictable and ludicrous film. He plays Conner, a cop with a son who needs a bone marrow transplant to stay alive. Enter Michael Keaton as McCabe, a mad psychopathic criminal genius (aren't they all?) whose bone marrow is a perfect match. What follows is an irritating battle of wits between Conner and McCabe, who decides he'd like to bust outta the hospital using nothing but a half-swallowed ampoule of a magical elixir, a dislocated thumb and a cigarette lighter flint. Move over MacGuyver.

Garcia is particularly annoying as actor and character. His character is devoted to his son. Nothing wrong with that. Unless your devotion for your son means that EVERYONE ELSE'S life is meaningless and expendable. As McCabe tries to escape from the hospital Conner has to save McCabe's life many times because once dead, his bone marrow is no longer useful. Conner causes a cop to get shot as well as motorway carnage in his attempts to capture McCabe unharmed. I got increasingly more angry watching Garcia as Conner risk everyone he comes into contact with so that his son may have a chance of living. What about the rest of us? Don't we deserve a chance at life too? The Conner character seems to be rooted in the maverick cop tradition, playing by his own rules and deciding what is and isn't right. It's a world where a bully makes the rules and you follow them or face the consequences. Something along the lines of what happened in Germany in the Thirties...

Garcia as actor is annoying to the extreme, spending most of the film tearing about the place in a semi-crouch with one arm stiff by his side for some reason. He trots out his usual bits of actor's business that appear in most Garcia films. He does the scene where he grabs someone's head in both of his hands and speaks/shouts right into their face. He does the scene where he explosively loses he temper and kicks some furniture only to immediately regain control of himself and instantly become the ice-man. He does the scene where he shouts in anger at the top of his lungs, while his face looks as if he has just spent an afternoon staring at the test card. You know the stuff. We've seen it all before.

The film goes on for far too long and credibility is stretched time and again until even the densest viewer's intelligence is insulted. We're encouraged to sympathise with the Garcia character: his wife is dead, his son's dying, he's a cop, he's pretty, he is a devoted father etc etc, but really, all he is, is a self-centred fascist bully.

Keaton has to make flesh a one dimensional cliché of a character and he has a go but is on a losing wicket from the outset. How can you put a new and imaginative slant on the stock Mad Criminal Genius character? And Barbet Schroeder, what were you thinking? From the classic Barfly to this? Pity...

Although following the formula for films in its class, including a saved dying child, a brave female doctor, a psychopath, and a dedicated detective trying to save his son, even the mandatory car chase sequence, I still found "Desperate Measure" an exciting and enjoyable thriller. The locations and presumably some sets are effective as is the dialogue and general situation set ups. It has great stunts, some by Keaton and Garcia themselves. The movie has not been well received by jaded critics who too easily criticize the formula elements, in my opinion. It has the high production values often found in many such films.