Extraordinary Measures

SPARTANS: 1, SOCIALISTS/AMERICANS: 0, And If you can't understand this review you'll probably like the movie.

B

Quite glossy for what should have been a made-for-TV movie.

Feel good movie. True story? I can't even remember. It is hard to hate it, but it is easy to not love it.

Fraser and Ford are both actors of limited range who can be extremely appealing in the right role, and here, they're both ideally cast.

"For a movie about the race to find a cure for a fatal childhood illness, there's something oddly low-stakes about Extraordinary Measures." - Matthew Connolly

Not a whole lot here to like or dislike. It'll hit the spot if you're in the mood for this sort of crap, by which I mean by-the-numbers medical melodrama with a slew of past-ther-prime recognizable faces and a lot of heart-string tugging.

" A better movie would have made an elevated perspective part of its aesthetic -- that's one of the elating aspects of Kurosawa's Red Beard: Its view of the human condition is, by necessity, large and vibrant.

This would have been could as a movie, but knowing it is based on a true story made it truly amazing. The movie itself isn't anything ground-shaking, but I was blown away by what these people were willing to go through. Nice, connected script and well acted!

Forgettable in its entirety but mildly entertaining. Reminds me of something that would appear on the Hallmark channel.

Not Harrison Ford's best. Predictable screenplay.

Drama about a man, determined to save his children from a rare genetic disorder, who forms an unlikely alliance with an unconventional scientist who might hold the key to curing his children. An ordinary film with ordinary characters in a story too big for it.... This is a remarkable story. I think the film lets them down. It finds the shortest possible route between beginning and end.

pithy review: extraordinary obstacles / extraordinary story. date viewed: may 22, 2010 highlight(s): characters that are believable and easy to empathize with. an interesting glimpse into the pharmaceutical industry. good acting all around. especially by harrison ford and jared harris. lowlight(s): made for tv feel........ favorite line: don't take it personal. verdict: recommended.

Despite a timely topic and a pair of heavyweight leads, Extraordinary Measures never feels like much more than a made-for-TV tearjerker

At times, the script gets too dense with technicalities and boardroom arguments for lay folk to comprehend. But at its best, it humanizes the plight of families who cope day-to-day with disabling illness.

Pedestrian disease-of-the-week movie (Pompe Disease by name, a form of muscular dystrophy), typically "inspired by true events" and aptly produced by CBS Films. Giving it big-screen cred is Ford as the crusty Cornhusker who provides the breakthrough in treatment: a bass-fishing eccentric at the University of Nebraska, listening loudly to classic rock at all hours in the lab.

So many fades! Fraser is pretty likable. Ford doesn't even really seem like he wants to be in movies anymore, let alone this one. For the most part, it kind of skims over the tough stuff, so the stakes don't seem as high as they should. Forgettable.