Review of Extreme Measures (1996) by James S — 22 Jun 2010

This plays like someone once wrote a feature length version of Diagnosis Murder, decided the script wasn't very good and threw it out. Hugh Grant becomes a major star and all of a sudden someone unearths a script for an affable British actor to play a doctor. But it's still not very good.

It starts well enough, Grant is the NYC doc who is intrigued by a patient who comes in and dies on the table, exhibiting strange behaviour. Naturally, Grant's inquisitive nature gets himself in all sorts of bother as the rather boring explanation unfolds.

The film manages to retain a slightly sinister edge for most if its first hour but falters badly once the plot details are begun to be revealed. From there on it becomes highly predictable and uninteresting.

Grant is okay, this was made when he was still relatively new to all the attention, but he's been much better. Sarah Jessica Parker is a bit of a nobody in this, she just sort of fills a space on the screen rather than really doing anything. Gene Hackman is not on screen nearly enough for his character to make the impact it should have.

Overlong, and shot like it was made for TV, this is fine up until it begins to lose it's grip and subsequently any kind of drama or tension it was building up. A good first hour followed by a sleep inducing second.