Medicine Man

Rating:
Summary: Mediocre Man
Review: ...It took a provocative idea and turned it into a silly action movie instead of a thoughful drama. Connery is fine as always, but Bracco grates...There's even a preachy save the environment message thrown in at the end...

Rating:
Summary: Top-Notch entertainment with a message!! DVD please!!
Review: A very realistic premise. Connery gives a marvelous performance but the scenery is an unmatched experience that makes the movie.

Rating:
Summary: Super movie!!
Review: All of the reviews speak glowingly of the movie but leave out one really important point. The music, by Jerry Goldsmith, is absolutely fabulous. Until this movie I was never aware that he also wrote the music for Patton, Rudy and many other movies. The scenery is gorgous, the give and take between Bracco and Connery is funny. Just a great flick.

Rating:
Summary: Super movie!!
Review: All of the reviews speak glowingly of the movie but leave out one really important point. The music, by Jerry Goldsmith, is absolutely fabulous. Until this movie I was never aware that he also wrote the music for Patton, Rudy and many other movies. The scenery is gorgous, the give and take between Bracco and Connery is funny. Just a great flick.

Rating:
Summary: For Medicinal Purposes
Review: Before Medine Man, I didn't think of director John McTiernan, as someone who would put a "message" into his films. After all Die Hard, Predator, and The Thomas Crown Affair remake, are not exactly known as "thinking people" movies. I am an admirer of his action work very much and like Connery too. I was impressed with the way Medicine Man was able to combine enough action and message without going overboard in either direction.

Totally removing himself from modern society, Dr Robert Campbell (Connery), has become a Medicine Man to the people of the Amazonian village, in which he now calls home. Thanks to an unforeseen mishap, Campbell has discovered that the cure for cancer can be derived from a chemical found in a Brazilian flower. Dr. Rae Crane (Lorraine Bracco), a fellow scientist from the states, tracks down the elusive Campbell in an effort to monitor his progress. The two doctors are practically at odds from the moment they meet. When a villager becomes sick, Campbell wants to use only remaining bit of cancer curing serum, to save the native's life. Rae isn't sure if that's a good idea. As if battling each other, weren't enough, the doctors find themselves having to also deal with a group of loggers who pose a danger to the village and to the cancer cure.

Shot in Mexico and Brazil, director McTiernan delivers the goods and the theme of conservation is delivered but not on a soapbox using a bullhorn. Also gone is the gore from McTiernan's other films, but the action is exciting to watch just the same. The sparks and chemistry between Connery and Bracco are intense. They are evenly matched in the film. Campbell is as memorable a character for Connery to play, as his turn as Malone was, in The Untouchables. Mention must also be made of composer Jerry Goldsmith's very fitting score to the film and how it adds flavor to the mix.

Medicine Man deserves to have a special edition DVD release. The bonus material is, to say the least, lacking. Aside from the forgone theatrical trailer, the disc also has an EPK style, and all too brief production featurette. Unfortunately, the featurette is even less interesting than watching paint dry.

Recommended until a better version comes along.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting and fun
Review: Despite the mediocre review given it by Amazon reviewer Tom Keogh, I thought this movie was actually pretty good. It has an interesting premise.

Connery plays an eccentric medical scientist looking for a miracle cure in the Brazilian rainforest, and I can't think of a better person for the part. Despite what Keogh said about the lack of chemistry between Bracco and Connery, I thought it worked out reasonably well, and there are some funny and touching scenes in the movie, such as the duel between Connery and the local witch doctor, who is angry with Connery for upstaging him with his modern, western medical skills. Connery has to fight the doctor, but knows he needs to let the witch doctor win to save face, and also so the witch doctor will show Connery how to obtain the cure which he had once and has lost.

All in all, a pretty good movie, considering it's probably one of Connery's least well-known flicks.

Rating:
Summary: Weak story. Handsonely Made.
Review: Director John McTiernan again struck out with this film. Although handsomely made, it is weak in story and even the good acting performance of Sean Connery is not enough to keep the viewer interested. Maybe McTiernan should retire from film making. Aside from The Hunt For Red October, just about all of his films have been medicore at best.

Rating:
Summary: Every civilization needs a medicine man
Review: Dr. Campbell (Sean Connery), a biochemist who has been doing extensive medical research for years in the lush rainforests of the Amazon, has found what just might be a MAJOR medical breakthrough. But that's not to say that he wouldn't enjoy just a little bit of help. Dr. Crane (Lorraine Bracco), a fellow biochemist comes to the aid of Dr. Campbell to help him as much as she can.

Will Dr. Campbell and Dr. Crane be able to find this miracle cure that could be just over the horizon? Will they be able to set aside their differences and actually be able to get along one of these days? These are the major questions that watching "Medicine Man" will answer for all the viewers who watch this great movie.

"Medicine Man" is one of those movies that doesn't need a bit of special effects to make it an unforgettable movie. It's a film that is real compelling and interesting to watch from start to finish without ever getting boring. With Sean Connery as the lead character, you know there will be great acting included.

If you're a fan of great movies, I definitely recommend to not miss out on your chance to watch and even own "Medicine Man."

Rating:
Summary: Medicine Man
Review: Excellent characters, intelligent story, very well done. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Only available in region 1
Review: Having just seen this movie on Dutch television I hoped to get it, but it seems only to be available in region 1. A pity because it's a wonderful movie. Scientifically it may be a little simplistic (finding a cure for cancer in a wooden hut) but the important points are well made and convincingly integrated into the story line. I wonder if the "official" reviewers were watching the same movie!