Extreme Measures (1996)

GOOD - A very interesting story start-to-finish is the main attribute of this movie. It simply entertains, which is what you want in a film. It's also well-acted by the two leads: Hugh Grant and Gene Hackman.

It's nice to see Grant in a serious role for a change while Hackman and David Morse are their usual intense selves. Also included in the cast are Sarah Jessica Parker, Paul Guilfoyle (of CSI-Las Vegas fame) and Debra Monk.

BAD - My objections to the films are: 1 - a few unrealistic scenes such as the meek doctor (Grant) beating up a tough FBI agent; 2 - the FBI guy (Morse) portrayed as a cold-blooded killer (boy does Liberal Hollywood hate any law- enforcement group); 3 - they also get a religious cheap shot in by showing the hateful bad guy at home with a picture of Jesus. The film world's bigotry never lets up.

OVERALL - The unique story and the acting talents of Grant and Hackman make this worth seeing.

Fmovies: Entertaining, but a lot like "coma" with Michael Douglas. Nothing really original in the movie, apart from the fact that the main person doesn't happen to get into a relationship during the movie and all that sort of sideline nonesense. Funny to see Hugh Grant just cannot help playing an insecure character even if he is playing someone who succeeds in at a very difficult task by being very determined. Moral issues, goodies & baddies with a little nuance, violent climax, happy end.

With an Above Average Script from Tony Gilroy and a Surprisingly Effective Against Type Performance from Hugh Grant, this is an Intense Thriller with Ethical Questions and Moral Dilemmas that have No Easy Answers.

It's those Difficult Questions the Movie Asks that makes this the kind of Movie that isn't made often. The Thriller Format is much more Popular and Easily Digested when this Type of Thinking is Not Required. Taxing the Brain is Not Formulaic for the Popcorn Crowd and it doesn't Sell Tickets.

This one is Noble in its Efforts and some Suspension of Disbelief is Required. There are a Few Scenes, most Notably when Grant's Doctor Submerges to the Bowels of the City, that Strain for Realism and one of the Few Times when the Film seems a bit too Hollywood.

But Most of the Movie Plays out some Twists and Turns that are Surprising and the quick Pacing Helps the Film Deal with the Malpractice Elements and the "God Complex" more Easily.

Overall, it is a Thinking Man's Thriller with Good Performances and Good Writing and is only Brought Down a Bit by the Contrived Situations Necessary to make it all Fit into a Two Hour Running Time.

Extreme Measures fmovies. A thriller in the medical world. Generally, doctors abide by the Hippocratic Oath - roughly summarized as "to do good or to do no harm". Hugh Grant as the English Doctor strives to uphold this. Gene Hackman plays the role of the medical researcher, now head of a powerful medical research foundation that can influence police and politicians, believes that medical research is more important than "to do no harm" if in the long run research does provide valuable improvements to medicine. Hackman is the ominous shadow of the German Nazi doctors, 1935-1945, such as Josef Mengele, who carried out abominable medical experiments in order to promote so-called medical advancement. Thus the conflict between Grant and Hackman: Grant the loner, a promising English doctor - a follower of the Hippocratic Oath, thus the moral man, is working temporarily in America to gain valuable medical experience. Hackman, the countervailing force, the ominous medical power with wide ranging influence in public power circles, controls the lives of his captured patients in underground "catacombs", disregarding their concerns in order to achieve his results for the "benefit of mankind" . Sudden deaths, escapes, mysterious liaisons, threats, moral arguing (but only a little as this in a modern American film - historically there was plenty of moral arguing), shootings, and of course plenty of blood are the powerful ingredients to this cocktail. Grant certainly knows how to play convincingly other roles than those "English" ones which rocketed him to the top. Hackman as always is a master of his role. Well worth seeing!

While it hardly offers any twists that we haven't seen before, "Extreme Measures" is a well-made, well-acted thriller that has an unusual air of believability. The most effective set piece, which doesn't have all that much to do with the main plot, is the hero's descent into the underground lairs beneath the Grand Central Station. Hugh Grant is very convincing and unaffected in one of his most serious roles, and the ending is not as cut-and-dried as you might expect it to be. But the most memorable moment, for me at least, occurs early on, when a very ill and frightened man, barely able to speak, looks straight into Grant's eyes, pleading for help. (**1/2)

A movie starring Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman and David Morse is a "must-see" for me. Extreme Measures is a thriller, and it does its job well - it is thrilling. On top of that the director managed to put me in a moral dilemma. There was a point in the movie, where I could not decide whether "the bad guy" really was such a bad guy. I think that this sounds very confusing, but watch the movie and decide for yourself. "The bad guy's" motives aren't bad at all, it is just the way he does it! A thrilling, although a bit slow movie at times. I voted 7/10.