Desperate Measures Review
by David Sunga (zookeeper AT criticzoo DOT com)January 31st, 1998
DESPERATE MEASURES (1998)
Rating: 2.0 stars (out of 4.0)
********************************
Key to rating system:
2.0 stars - Debatable
2.5 stars - Some people may like it
3.0 stars - I liked it
3.5 stars - I am biased in favor of the movie
4.0 stars - I felt the movie's impact personally or it stood out *********************************
A Movie Review by David Sunga
Directed by: Barbet Schroeder
Written by: Henry Bean, Neal Jimenez, David Klass
Ingredients:
cop who needs the bone marrow of a ruthless criminal for his leukemia victim son, vicious violent bad guy who'll do anything to escape
Synopsis:
Frank (Andy Garcia) is a widowed cop whose 9-year-old son (Joseph Cross) is dying of leukemia. Frank is so desperate to save his son that in the opening scene of the movie, he breaks into a government computer and searches for possible bone marrow donors. Unfortunately, he finds only one match: an incarcerated killer and dangerous genius named McCabe (Michael Keaton), who is desperate to escape from jail. As the bone marrow transfusion operation is about to begin, McCabe suddenly and ingeniously escapes. Because Frank must keep McCabe alive in order to have the transfusion to save his son, Frank finds himself at odds with the police, who have orders to shoot to kill. Eventually, both Frank and McCabe are fugitives from the law, but while evading capture Frank must somehow capture McCabe and bring him in alive in order to proceed with the life-saving operation.
Opinion:
I like the premise of this movie, the idea that a desperate cop can be just as immoral as a desperate criminal. The acting is good. Andy Garcia fleshes out the cop character nicely, while Michael Keaton does a particularly good job as Peter McCabe, a criminal character who is almost as dangerous and intelligent as the character Dr. Hannibal Lecter of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
On the other hand, the movie seems contrived and predictable. Once McCabe escapes from surgery, he doesn't do what any normal red-blooded American criminal would do - - that is, get the heck out of there. Inexplicably, he hangs around the hospital to harass the cop, the kid, the kid's doctor for almost the whole length of the movie.
In addition, good guys seem to bump into each other and pass along information a little too conveniently. In one scene, as Frank is hiding next to an elevator, Dr. Samantha Hawkins conveniently runs into him - - and from nowhere, she produces Frank's lost gun and hands it to Frank as if it were the most natural event in the world. Another time, when Doc and Frank need to pass information to each other, by pure coincidence she happens to be standing next to a window which just happens to be right next to Frank who is standing outside on catwalk! This all just seems a little too contrived to me.
Since DESPERATE MEASURES is essentially a 'chase' movie, it also contains many gun battles, scenes of running, speeding cars, and explosions. Unfortunately, all of the action and running around takes place inside the hospital, until McCabe pops out for an obligatory car chase ending.
Trivia:
Mr. Barbet Schroeder directed SINGLE WHITE FEMALE (1992)
Reviewed by David Sunga
January 30, 1998
Copyright © 1998
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