The unfortunate thing about movie trailers is that they tend to give away too much of the plot. In the quest to give the audience enough information to help them make a decision as to whether they should see a movie or not, the studios tend to overdo it. In some cases, so much is shown that one can practically map out in their head how the film will play out from the beginning right up until the end. Rarely, even the most predictable of films can still end up surprising audiences (why else would the visually astonishing Avatar continue to tear up the charts?). But most of the time, these predictable films turn out to be just as paint-by-numbers as their trailer suggests. Extraordinary Measures is that kind of film.
John Crowley's (Brendan Fraser) youngest children were diagnosed with the very rare Pompe Disease, and are confined to wheelchairs for their lives. The average life span for children suffering from the disease rarely goes past nine, and his daughter Megan (Meredith Droeger) has just turned eight. Like any good parent, John wants the best for his children, and wants to do everything he can to save their lives. While doing research, he stumbles upon the theories of one Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford), who just may have come up with a potential vaccine to help combat the disease.
Just from this small description, and the notion that this film is "Based on a True Story", it can be deduced exactly what comes afterwards. Except instead of feeling like a cinematic endeavor, Extraordinary Measures comes off feeling like an exhaustingly lengthy movie of the week. Events are episodic, happening in sporadic order and in such a jumpy fashion that it almost feels like commercial breaks were tailor made for the film. It makes the film feel stretched out, and after ten minutes, I wished I could change the channel as opposed to sitting watching this drivel for almost two agonizing hours. The editing style is so amateur, and so simplistic, that it practically screams that it was made for television consumption.
But then the whole production feels like it belongs on television. The budget of the film is clearly very low, there are zero effects, and the set design is modest at best. Director Tom Vaughan is a veteran TV director, and the cast is filled with current or former TV actors like Keri Russell (Felicity), Jared Harris (Fringe), Alan Ruck (Spin City) and Courtney B. Vance (FlashForward). In fact, the only thing that seems to make this film need to be a theatrical experience is the "star power" of Fraser and Ford. Surely their involvement is not the only real reason why this film is gracing the silver screen and not the small screen, right? But while the veteran TV actors look comfortable in their roles, Fraser and Ford both look totally out of place in the film. They visibly look like this is not the kind of material or delivery either of them is used to.
Speaking of the material, you would never have expected a former Oscar-nominee wrote this script. Yes, the story is very sad, but is there a reason to bash the audience over the head so much that they are forced to cry? It seems like writer Robert Nelson Jacobs feels the need to one up himself in each scene, making the next even more of an emotional mess than the last. The episodic structure of the film makes this notion all the more awful. And while Fraser is saddled with his share of silly dialogue, Ford is the one who comes out even worse. Practically every line Ford has is either a wise ass remark, a wise ass comeback, or something he can yell during an argument. I have not read the original book the film is based on, but I imagine the real Stonehill has more personality to him than varying shades of angry. Somehow, Ford's Stonehill makes even the most ridiculous of dialogue screamed by Al Pacino seem like Shakespeare in comparison.
Acting wise, Droeger is the only real standout in a cast that includes Indiana Jones himself. I am unsure if she is actually confined to a wheelchair (a quick search suggests she is not), but she plays Megan so beautifully and authentically that it seems like a bad lie to even attempt to suggest she is not. Her pain is so wonderfully conveyed that it makes the film so much better than it actually is. Diego Velazquez, who plays Crowley's other disease-stricken child Patrick, is not given nearly as much to do physically, but he plays his character fairly well. It is just a shame that both are given dialogue that is just as silly as everyone else. The two of them practically run laps around the adult cast.
Fraser is just not right for the role at all. He seems to be able to pull it off in some scenes, but for the majority, just seems off. But then, he was not all that great in his other decidedly adult role in Crash either. Ford on the other hand, simply looks like he is phoning his performance in. None of the charisma, the charm or the enthusiasm we have grown to know him for is on display here. Instead, it looks like a performance from a has-been actor who was once big in the movies, but now can barely even headline a TV special.
The team behind Extraordinary Measures may have had good intentions when they began production on the film, but the end result just does not seem to have been worth the effort. It may tug on your heartstrings in some scenes, but the rest will just seem so forced and so stale that you may find yourself searching for a remote that is not there.
4/10.
John Crowley's (Brendan Fraser) youngest children were diagnosed with the very rare Pompe Disease, and are confined to wheelchairs for their lives. The average life span for children suffering from the disease rarely goes past nine, and his daughter Megan (Meredith Droeger) has just turned eight. Like any good parent, John wants the best for his children, and wants to do everything he can to save their lives. While doing research, he stumbles upon the theories of one Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford), who just may have come up with a potential vaccine to help combat the disease.
Just from this small description, and the notion that this film is "Based on a True Story", it can be deduced exactly what comes afterwards. Except instead of feeling like a cinematic endeavor, Extraordinary Measures comes off feeling like an exhaustingly lengthy movie of the week. Events are episodic, happening in sporadic order and in such a jumpy fashion that it almost feels like commercial breaks were tailor made for the film. It makes the film feel stretched out, and after ten minutes, I wished I could change the channel as opposed to sitting watching this drivel for almost two agonizing hours. The editing style is so amateur, and so simplistic, that it practically screams that it was made for television consumption.
But then the whole production feels like it belongs on television. The budget of the film is clearly very low, there are zero effects, and the set design is modest at best. Director Tom Vaughan is a veteran TV director, and the cast is filled with current or former TV actors like Keri Russell (Felicity), Jared Harris (Fringe), Alan Ruck (Spin City) and Courtney B. Vance (FlashForward). In fact, the only thing that seems to make this film need to be a theatrical experience is the "star power" of Fraser and Ford. Surely their involvement is not the only real reason why this film is gracing the silver screen and not the small screen, right? But while the veteran TV actors look comfortable in their roles, Fraser and Ford both look totally out of place in the film. They visibly look like this is not the kind of material or delivery either of them is used to.
Speaking of the material, you would never have expected a former Oscar-nominee wrote this script. Yes, the story is very sad, but is there a reason to bash the audience over the head so much that they are forced to cry? It seems like writer Robert Nelson Jacobs feels the need to one up himself in each scene, making the next even more of an emotional mess than the last. The episodic structure of the film makes this notion all the more awful. And while Fraser is saddled with his share of silly dialogue, Ford is the one who comes out even worse. Practically every line Ford has is either a wise ass remark, a wise ass comeback, or something he can yell during an argument. I have not read the original book the film is based on, but I imagine the real Stonehill has more personality to him than varying shades of angry. Somehow, Ford's Stonehill makes even the most ridiculous of dialogue screamed by Al Pacino seem like Shakespeare in comparison.
Acting wise, Droeger is the only real standout in a cast that includes Indiana Jones himself. I am unsure if she is actually confined to a wheelchair (a quick search suggests she is not), but she plays Megan so beautifully and authentically that it seems like a bad lie to even attempt to suggest she is not. Her pain is so wonderfully conveyed that it makes the film so much better than it actually is. Diego Velazquez, who plays Crowley's other disease-stricken child Patrick, is not given nearly as much to do physically, but he plays his character fairly well. It is just a shame that both are given dialogue that is just as silly as everyone else. The two of them practically run laps around the adult cast.
Fraser is just not right for the role at all. He seems to be able to pull it off in some scenes, but for the majority, just seems off. But then, he was not all that great in his other decidedly adult role in Crash either. Ford on the other hand, simply looks like he is phoning his performance in. None of the charisma, the charm or the enthusiasm we have grown to know him for is on display here. Instead, it looks like a performance from a has-been actor who was once big in the movies, but now can barely even headline a TV special.
The team behind Extraordinary Measures may have had good intentions when they began production on the film, but the end result just does not seem to have been worth the effort. It may tug on your heartstrings in some scenes, but the rest will just seem so forced and so stale that you may find yourself searching for a remote that is not there.
4/10.