Desperate Measures

DESPERATE MEASURES is one of those "high concept" thrillers that the 1990s were so fond of: an entire movie written around a single sentence premise guaranteed to garner interest. This time around, it's simple: a cop's dying child needs a bone marrow transplant and the only matching donor is a jailed killer.

What follows is a movie that starts out on a fairly tense level before gradually become more and more preposterous as it goes on. It soon transpires that the killer, played with relish by Michael Keaton, is intent on using the opportunity to escape, and of course to take down anyone that stands in his way. Said cop Andy Garcia must do everything in his power to stop him.

Much of the film involves a tense stand-off inside a hospital and it's during this section that it starts to get silly. Garcia does things like assisting a criminal to escape and driving his stolen motorbike through glass doors yet at no time do any of the detectives or police force attempt to apprehend him, preferring to let him get on with it.

The plot gradually breaks down and in the end becomes one long chase sequence, filled with all of the over-the-top stunts you'd expect from a '90s-era action movie. The ending is both schmaltzy and expected. While Keaton is good value for money, I always find the staid Garcia a bit of a bore and he's no exception here. Still, if you take it for what it is - and you have a soft spot for laughably OTT direction and nostalgia for the late '90s - then DESPERATE MEASURES does contain a few nuggets of merit along the way.

Well-crafted but overly contrived thriller about a man driven to desperate means to try and save his dying son. García is convincing as a San Francisco cop who's forced to choose between doing his job and being a good father when he discovers that his ill son can be saved with a bone marrow transplant. The only compatible donor: imprisoned convict and multiple murderer Keaton (in a cunning performance). The story is intriguing, and there are plenty of good performances, but the script just becomes more and more far-fetched as it goes along. Watchable thanks to the talented cast, and a witty cat-and-mouse game between the two leads. **

Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton star in the classic policeman vs bad guy story, but with a twist. Garcia is Frank Conner, a cop with a son named Matt who desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. Keaton is Pete McCabe, a hardened prisoner who seems to be the only person in the world who matches little Matt's bone marrow type. So eventually, Pete is talked into giving the marrow transplant, but in reality has a plan for escape, leaving Matt and his father, Frank, with nobody, Frank has no other choice but to find Pete and bring him back alive. This is where the cat and mouse plot begins, after nearly an hour of setting it up.

Desperate Measures had the potential to be so bad. I never would have imagined myself enjoying it this much. Thanks to a rainy day and a few hours to kill, I decided to watch this movie and it exceeded my expectations (which were not very high).

I still would not say this is a great movie. In fact, it is pretty average but Michael Keaton gives an enjoyable performance as a hardened prisoner. Normally, I would expect Garcia to be the bad guy and Keaton to be the cop, but Keaton honestly works out better as the bad guy.

The worst part of the movie has to be the kid, Matt, played by Joseph Cross. Nothing he says or does is what a young child his age would actually be thinking or saying. I am not even really disappointed so much with that, but his delivery was terrible. I know he is just a kid, but there are much better child actors who could have portrayed this much better. All in all, worth about a 7/10.

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.

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.