Rating: 
Summary: A good thriller!
Review: Although this movie has been trashed by just about everyone here, I enjoyed it. I can't give it 5 stars by any means because it stretches the boundaries of reality just a tad too far (Garcia would have spent a verrrrry long time locked up somewhere for the junk he pulled in this movie), but it was still very good. Marcia Gay Henderson's character was different from the whiner she played in "Meet Joe Black", and it's a welcome change. She actually comes off as a sexy and secure doctor who wants to see her patient live. Keaton's character is fun to watch (he just makes an awesome bad guy, any way you look at it). It wasn't a waste of time to watch, just don't expect too much truthfulness in it. I especially loved the plot twist right at the end!
Rating: 
Summary: Too Fast & Slick For It's Own Good!
Review: Boy this movie is fast. It certainly uses all it's cards at once and doesn't save enough moderately and sparsely. It really reminded me of Speed in some stark way.Michael Keaton acts great, trying to be a Hannibal. He pulls it of well. Andy Garcia does an OK job but his acting wasn't spectacular.
For some inane reason I wanted Keaton's evil character to win through in the end. Wasn't he abused or something as a child. Again that's reverse psychology - the viewer going for the bad guy ala Hannibal. The Australian DVD version has about 30 extra minutes of interviews and behind the scenes footage. That is something you Americans it looks like, don't appear to have. But we missed out - we didn't have any closed captions or subtitles. That would've been handy considering some of the dialogue was incomprehensible. Overall I think this movie was too fast for it's own good. It should have slowed down a bit so the viewer isn't overloaded with too much pace. The aftertaste of the movie was one where you won't want to watch it again. But during it did have massive classic potential. But giving the viewer too much can lessen the goodness and impact of the movie... Rating: 2 and a half stars out of 5!
Rating: 
Summary: Desperate Measures
Review: Complete and utter crock of trash. The beginning of the film started off failrly well and I was starting to enjoy it. As if looking down a large and scary slop it all went down hill from that point on. I'm struggling to find out how someone could rate this movie anything above 2/5. I will admit that Michael Keaton played his character well, however, the plot of the movie was thin at best. All I can say is that buyer beware. If you like Micheal Keaton - then get it. If, for that matter, you like Andy Garcia as the 'cop who has to save is son' then get it. Otherwise, steer clear of this movie as I personally didn't find it enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Perils of the Hollywood formula
Review: David Klass's screenplay is so formulaic it plays like the demonic spawn of some kind of Hollywood screenwriting software. Take one empathetic hero (Andy Garcia), and add a strong motivation in the form of a dying child. Match him with a hateful villain (Michael Keaton) with an equal and opposite motivation - he's a jailed sociopath with one chance at freedom. Force them into visually spectacular conflict (lots of shooting and explosions) in a confined arena (the hospital). Add plot holes freely to escape from logical dead ends (cutting chains with surgical lasers; running with a wounded leg; fantastically inept cops). Increase the pace towards a life-or-death climax (the car chase and the bridge) in which the hero triumphs and the villain dies (or escapes to make way for a sequel). Roll credits. Admittedly, it kind of works here, but nowhere near enough. The essential problem is one of tone: the terminal illness of a child and the possible redemption of a cooperative criminal is simply an unsuitable basis for an action-thriller. It makes the filmmakers seem not only flippant, but transparently incompetent at manipulating our emotions. There is, potentially, a good story about a criminal's redemption to be told from this film's point of departure - a powerful drama with the tone of "Dead Man Walking" rather than "Lethal Weapon" - and especially with this cast. Michael Keaton has enough moral ambiguity for us to believe him as a killer who might choose to do something good. But in this one-sided role which requires nothing but wild-eyed histrionics and physically implausible stunts, he's wasted. As will be your money.
Rating:
Summary: If you value performance over plot, it's worth a rental
Review: Desperate Measures (Barbet Schroeder, 1998) I'm never sure whether I'm going to like a Barbet Schroeder flick when I sit down to watch it. Half the time he pulls off amazing feats of grace under pressure (Barfly, Reversal of Fortune), and the other half of the time he crafts enjoyable if mindless fluff that stands one viewing well, two viewings passably, and pales by the third (Single White Female, Kiss of Death). Five minutes into Desperate Measures, I was convinced it was the latter; a day after watching it, I'm still not convinced it's the former, but I'm farther along the road than I was at that point. Peter McCabe (Michael Keaton) is a highly intelligent psychopath, a less likable Hannibal Lecter, whose bone marrow happens to be a match for the dying son of Frank Conner (Andy Garcia). All Conner has to do is convince McCabe to be a donor to save his son, and keep McCabe from escaping somewhere between going out of his cell and going back into his cell. Needless to say, that doesn't work, or it would be a very, very short film. Much of the movie's appeal rests solely on the head of Andy Garcia, one of the best actors in Hollywood right now, and one of the most underrated as well. He's not as engaging here as he is in his best roles (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead, Black Rain, Dead Again, etc.), but his acting ability is enough to make the film watchable. Keaton seems constricted by his role, but one gets the impression that has more to do with the director than the actor himself. A number of decent minor roles also show up in the film (Marcia Gay Harden is especially pleasing as the doctor slated to perform the operation, who gets caught up in the whole mess). If plot's more important to you than acting, however, don't bother with this one. Each "twist" can be seen coming a mile off, and if the ending doesn't make you want to seek Schroeder out and smack him personally, I'll eat my review. Perhaps the most predictable thing I've seen in the past five years. Oh, well, you can't have everything. ** 1/2
Rating: 
Summary: How about the music!?
Review: Guys! Guys! Cut it out! This is the section for reviews about the MUSIC! Not the flippin movie. Why must you talk stupid nonsense!? All I friggin want is to know wither or not the music is good or not. Those damn stars are now referring to the friggin movie not the SCORE; which is what this page is all about! See the section where it says SOUNDTRACK? Yeah I'm sure you do. I notice it says next to the reviews, that it refers to the DVD review......WHY!? Why put a DVD review next to something that is a damn music review! IDIOTS! I'll buy this just so I can review it and give someone the heads up; I hate it when this BS goes on. I'll let ya know if you should buy it.
Rating:
Summary: I'm glad I did not have to pay to see this movie !
Review: I might have given it two stars had I seen it on DVD with the 5.1 soundtrack. I happened to catch it on MNET. I enjoy action movies but this was the pits. It has a stupid storyline and displays Michael Keaton at his worst. If you want to see a better movie with Michael Keaton, watch Pacific Heights.
Rating: 
Summary: Whats up?
Review: I saw this movie on tv. I was captivated with the crazy escapes and inovative ideas in the movie. I thought it was a very good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Who is the amazon critic???
Review: I strongly disagree with the editorial review for this movie. It is one of the most suspensful and awesome movies i've seen. It might not have the greatest plot in the world but it is entertaining and keeps you watching at the edge of your seat. The stunts are awesome and so is the acting. If you like suspensful, action, thriller movies...You will love this.
Rating:
Summary: Who is the amazon critic???
Review: I strongly disagree with the editorial review for this movie. It is one of the most suspensful and awesome movies i've seen. It might not have the greatest plot in the world but it is entertaining and keeps you watching at the edge of your seat. The stunts are awesome and so is the acting. If you like suspensful, action, thriller movies...You will love this.
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